The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to demand immediate federal action to get food assistance for almost 400,000 county residents cut off from SNAP benefits.

Based on a proposal by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson- Remer, the board directed the chief administrative officer to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture administrator calling "for the immediate release of the (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) contingency reserves and use of existing federal transfer authority to sustain food benefits for families during the federal shutdown," along with waiving a required timeline for reviewing the letter.

Aguirre and Lawson-Remer said SNAP benefits are being held up for 400,000 county residents, including 125,000 children and 10

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