County of Napa - Board of Supervisors October 27, 2025

The Napa County Board of Supervisors held a meeting on October 27, 2025, focused primarily on addressing food insecurity due to a federal government shutdown impacting CalFresh benefits. The board discussed a proposal to allocate up to $500,000 from the county's tobacco master settlement agreement funds to purchase emergency grocery store gift cards for CalFresh recipients during November and December. This funding would be administered in partnership with the Napa Valley Community Foundation and local nonprofits such as Community Action Napa Valley and Feeding Forward, which have existing infrastructure to distribute food aid efficiently. The board also debated the appropriate use of emergency declaration language to authorize the expenditure, ultimately approving a resolution declaring a local emergency and authorizing the Health and Human Services Agency director to contract with the community foundation for this purpose. The meeting highlighted the importance of leveraging community partnerships and ensuring rapid response to mitigate the immediate impact of the benefit disruption on vulnerable residents.