SF commits $18 million to extend SNAP benefits

Driving the news: The city is committing $9 million to cover food assistance for SNAP recipients, pulling from a reserve fund created earlier this year in anticipation of state and federal budget concerns.

• Crankstart Foundation, co-founded by venture capitalist Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman, will match the $9 million to double the impact.
• "It has never been acceptable to throw up our hands and expect kids, parents and seniors to just figure it out, and in this city, we will not stand by," Mayor Daniel Lurie said at a press conference Wednesday.

What's next: The city's Human Services Agency will send a letter to SNAP recipients with instructions for activating digital or physical prepaid cards they can use at grocery stores citywide — the product of a partnership with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

• Residents in need of immediate relief can access free meals at Project Open Hand and SF-Marin Food Bank.

• City officials will continue to monitor the impacts of the government shutdown, Lurie said.

The big picture: SNAP, the nation's largest domestic food assistance program, provides crucial support for low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities and others.

• California joined 24 other Democratic-led states in suing the Trump administration this week in an effort to force it to resume SNAP funding as the government shutdown drags on.
• Funding reductions could also lead to the loss of SNAP-generated economic activity, experts have warned.