SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will pour $80 million into food banks and send members of the National Guard and California Volunteers corps to pass out food as public benefits dry up due to the ongoing federal shutdown, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

Newsom said he was expediting $80 million in food aid and dispatching volunteers on a “humanitarian mission” two days after announcing that residents who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in-state as CalFresh, would likely not receive any benefits in November if the federal government remained shut after Thursday.

Around 5.5 million Californians receive CalFresh benefits, which average out to a monthly household benefit of $189 per recipient, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Newsom used the Wednesday announcement about food bank aid to again blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for failing to reach a compromise with Democrats to refund state Medicare subsidies and reopen the government.

“Millions of Americans rely on food benefits to feed their families, and while Republicans in Washington drag their feet, California is stepping up once again to fill in the gaps,” he said in a statement. “As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, California is working to ensure CalFresh recipients don’t go hungry while food prices are spiking under President Trump.”

During the early days of the pandemic, Newsom deployed California National Guard members to pass out supplies at food banks as demand surged and volunteer corps members dropped.

Newsom’s mobilization of the California National Guard could preempt a potential federal takeover. On Tuesday, he and Attorney General Rob Bonta said they were prepared to sue to block Trump from seizing control of the National Guard for a federal incursion into San Francisco.

For weeks, Trump — egged on by Silicon Valley allies like White House crypto czar David Sacks, Elon Musk and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff — has threatened to declare an insurrection in the city and direct federal troops to “clean up” the city and “make it great again.”

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