PHOTOS: Humanitarian deployment of California National Guard, California Volunteers to food banks expands to San Diego

What you need to know: Service members from California Volunteers and the California National Guard began work assisting the San Diego Food Bank with preparing and distributing meals for families facing food insecurity.

SAN DIEGO - At the direction of Governor Gavin Newsom, the California National Guard (CalGuard) and California Volunteers have been deployed on a humanitarian mission to assist the San Diego Food Bank under the leadership of the Department of Social Services. This comes as SNAP delays begin to take effect due to Trump's ongoing government shutdown.

The efforts in San Diego follow the recent announcement of ongoing support by CalGuard and California Volunteers at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

"I'm proud of the Californians stepping up where Washington has fallen short - our California Volunteers and the California National Guard are on the ground, supporting food banks and serving families in need. With today's expansion of humanitarian assistance in San Diego, California is once again showing what real leadership looks like - taking action, standing up for communities, and making sure families don't go hungry."

Governor Gavin Newsom

Service members of the California National Guard at the San Diego Food Bank

"Our citizen-soldiers of the California National Guard are deeply honored to serve our neighbors and our communities on this vital mission," said Major General Beevers, Adjutant General of the California Military Department. "Side by side with volunteers and our state partners, we roll up our sleeves and answer the call - because we recognize that every person we help, every meal we pack, every hand we hold, matters. We stand together as one team, committed with heart and resolve to make certain no one in our communities goes hungry."

"Millions of people across the state are seeing a delay in federal food benefits and we need Californians to step up to protect their neighbors from going hungry," said GO-Serve Director and California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday. "Operation Feed California is a critical effort that offers ways to help. This is what it means to be a Californian - when challenges arise, we show up together."

During this deployment, the California's National Guard is on a humanitarian mission under the direct command of Governor Newsom. These men and women are working behind the scenes at food bank warehouses, packing boxes, managing deliveries, and moving supplies to keep food flowing to families in need. In most cases, these service members aren't interacting directly with the public. Their role is purely logistical - helping food banks handle the surge in demand during the federal shutdown.

Service members regularly provide support to state civilian authorities, including for Governor-directed missions to support wildfire preparedness and response, tackle deadly drug trafficking, and surge medical capacity during the global COVID-19 pandemic. When under the Governor's command, the Guard will not conduct any immigration questions or enforcement.

At Governor Gavin Newsom's direction in 2020, the California National Guard played a crucial humanitarian role supporting food banks across the state. Guard members helped pack, load, and distribute food when volunteers were unable to safely do so - ultimately helping food banks deliver more than 800 million meals statewide to families in need.

Supporting Californians in times of need

Governor Newsom announced a statewide effort to deploy CalGuard and California Volunteers to assist food banks last month and fast-tracked $80 million to food banks throughout the state to help address cuts to food benefits as a result of President Trump's failure to reopen the federal government, resulting in 5.5 million recipients of CalFresh experiencing delays to November food benefits.

California and over 22 states sued the Trump Administration for putting millions of Americans at risk of hunger and refusing to fund food assistance benefits, despite the USDA having funds to continue supporting the program in November.

Last week, two federal judges ruled in affirmation of the state's position that the Trump Administration is legally responsible for supporting SNAP funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Although the findings do not make SNAP benefits immediately available, they begin the process of requiring the federal government to direct funds to the program supporting Americans facing food insecurity.