January 21, 2026

County Announces Restoration of CalFresh Benefits

County Announces Restoration of CalFresh Benefits

STAFF REPORT

EL CENTRO — The Imperial County Department of Social Services (ICDSS) is informing residents that benefits under the federal CalFresh Program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) have been restored for November 2025.

Customers who normally receive benefits between the 1st and 7th day of each month should have received their benefits overnight and throughout the day today. Customers who normally receive their benefits between the 8th and 10th day of each month will see no interruption in service.

Customers should:

To assist local families affected by this delay, the county urged residents to donate or volunteer at the Imperial Valley Food Bank. Donations will help sustain food distribution efforts for those impacted by the disruption in services.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed Friday a multistate amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, urging it to deny the Trump Administration’s request to block a lower court’s order requiring full funding of November SNAP benefits.

On Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a ruling directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide those benefits in full to over 41 million low-income Americans.

The Trump Administration responded by filing a notice of appeal, seeking to block full payment of November SNAP benefits. Now, the Trump Administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to grant an emergency pause of the lower court’s order by 1:00 pm PT/4:00 pm ET Friday. The ruling was not made as of press time.

“We are the richest country in the world, and despite the government shutdown, the Trump Administration can fully fund November SNAP benefits. But it is choosing not to. Intentionally. Deliberately. Cruelly,” said Attorney General Bonta in a statement. “My fellow attorneys general and I refuse to stand idly by. We urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reject the Trump Administration’s efforts to take food off low-income Americans’ tables.”