Heart for Humanity Food Distribution Ministry passes out food amidst Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit cuts at Victory Christian Fellowship near New Castle on Nov. 1, 2025.
San Diego, California – In San Diego, a sense of quiet urgency filled the parking lot of Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday. With federal food assistance frozen by the government shutdown, hundreds of families lined up for what organizers called the “Super Bowl of food distribution.”
The unannounced, invitation-only event was coordinated by the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank in partnership with the State of California, the City of San Diego, and San Diego State University. Together, they handed out more than 63,000 pounds of food to residents identified through the Food Bank’s database—people most vulnerable to the sudden halt of CalFresh SNAP benefits.
“This is not just another food distribution, but it’s the Super Bowl of food distribution,” said Casey Castillo, CEO of the San Diego Food Bank. The scale of the operation reflected the magnitude of the crisis: nearly 400,000 San Diegans saw their EBT cards run dry overnight when CalFresh funding stopped Saturday.
For many, that meant no money for groceries, no safety net, and no warning. “I’m just sad, crushed, and disappointed with the system,” said LaTonia Scott-Davis, who was one of the first to receive food. Volunteers placed boxes of fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, ground turkey, and canned goods into her car. “It makes a big difference,” she said. “Now we can eat for a day or two.”
Lines of cars stretched through the stadium parking lot as volunteers from AmeriCorps and local service groups loaded donations under the early morning sun. The atmosphere was both efficient and emotional—an assembly line of necessity powered by civic cooperation.
Josh Fryday, California’s Chief Service Officer and Director of Go-Serve, helped load cars alongside San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. Both emphasized that California is trying to show leadership where the federal government has stalled. “The country is looking to California because what we’re seeing is chaos and cruelty coming out of Washington, D.C.,” Fryday said. “People are looking for a better way.”
For many recipients, the event was the difference between hunger and stability. Maria Magana, who lives in a senior apartment complex in Chula Vista, made the trip with a friend. Both women are widows on fixed incomes. “I’ll be able to eat now,” Magana said. “You see, I depend on EBT. If I don’t have EBT, what am I going to do?”
The San Diego Food Bank has pledged an additional $300,000 to expand its weekly food supply as long as the shutdown continues. That funding will flow to 450 partner organizations countywide.
