With the recent government shutdown ending on Nov. 12, food stamps and other federal assistance have resumed. This shutdown has put a spotlight on federal assistance, specifically on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — dubbed CalFresh in California. As of May 2025, a recorded 41.7 million people in the United States receive SNAP benefits, according to the Pew Research Center article “What the data says about food stamps in the U.S.”
In a recent survey conducted by The Union, 44 of 749 (5.9%) Milpitas High School students reported relying on SNAP or other federal food assistance programs.
Senior and SNAP user Adriana Vazquez gets welfare checks through the government, and has a card that gets money every Thursday, she said. Vazquez isn’t aware of any other students who rely on programs like SNAP, but knows students who do financially struggle, she said.
“I haven’t sought help from food pantries, but I know some students do seek that, and I think it’s very thoughtful that we have programs in place to help students and families,” Vazquez said.
Vazquez’s family did not receive any checks for a while because of the government shutdown, she said.
“I started using my paychecks from my job to help my mom pay the bills as well as groceries,” Vazquez said. “She did tell me at some point she needed $200 to pay back something, and I gave her that money.”
MHS needs a program that allows students to get more resources, Vazquez said. Vazquez knows some low-income students who are academically failing because of their home life and attempts to balance it with school, she said.
“I feel like it (a school benefit program) could help students find jobs and find places where they can get income,” Vazquez said. “They (students) can start babysitting, pet sitting, applying to places as soon as they can, and also just making sure that they feel safe, they have what they need, especially if they feel like SNAP isn’t covering what they need.”
Sacred Heart Community Service, an anti-poverty organization in the Bay Area, provides an array of resources for everyone, Director of Communications for Sacred Heart Community Service Demone Carter said. The organization has a food pantry, a clothing closet, an energy program, a house assistance program, and more, he said. Sacred Heart relies a lot on volunteers, he added.
“We have anywhere from seven to 9000 volunteers that help us run our food pantry and other programs on a yearly basis,” Carter said. “We have amazing donors. We’ve been around for 61 years, so we have a great base of donors who contribute to Sacred Heart monthly and annually to help us meet the needs of the community. And then we also have federal funding and funding through the County of Santa Clara, and grant foundational funding also supports our work.”
With the pause of SNAP benefits during the shutdown, Sacred Heart Community Service saw an increase in people coming to their food pantry, Carter said.
“We did see an uptick in the number of people coming to our food pantry in the month of October and early November,” Carter said. “We saw about 900 more families than we’re used to seeing, and so we believe that folks in our community were feeling uncertain about where meals or groceries were coming from.”
Since senior and previous SNAP user Chien Thach’s family had just arrived in the U.S., he didn’t have housing and resources, so his parents applied to these programs for help, he said. In the past, Thach has received help from food pantries and other charitable organizations in the Bay, he added.
“We actively got emails from donations, like from different schools and areas, and my family often went there to get food,” Thach said.
If you’re a SNAP user, try not to use up all your funds in one place, Vazquez said.
“Try to be as resourceful as you can with how much money they give in, and as well, seek places where you can get more money, whether it be contracting, preparing cars, babysitting,” Vazquez said. “There’s so many ways where you can find help. There’s food pantries and even the government, like the local government, (can) help you as well. If you feel like you cannot get any help, talk to a counselor or someone else; they will definitely try to help you as best they can.”
