Judicate West's Var Fox pledges $50,000 match to aid families missing SNAP benefits

More than 800 low-income families in Los Angeles hit a crisis this month when their November SNAP benefits didn't show up on time. Inner City Law Center sprang into action, launching an emergency relief campaign to deliver groceries to these homes immediately.

The nonprofit legal services organization is distributing grocery gift cards to clients affected by the federal payment disruption while litigation over the suspended benefits continues. Judicate West executive Var Fox has pledged to match the first $50,000 in contributions to the campaign.

"At Inner City Law Center, we have more than 800 current clients who rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families," said attorney Adam Murray, CEO of the organization. "Those benefits did not arrive on Nov. 1. There is ongoing litigation. But at the moment the Trump administration is saying that people will receive partial benefits on a delayed timeline. In the meantime, our clients are going hungry."

SNAP provides 41.7 million Americans--including 1.5 million Los Angeles residents--with nearly $8 billion in monthly food assistance. The average benefit is $187 per month, and more than one-third of recipients are children. For every meal provided by a food bank, SNAP provides nine.

Fox said he established the matching gift in honor of his father, Ardashes Yerganian.

"We're blessed to bless others. We're strengthened to strengthen others," Fox said. "Which would we want to be -- the one crying out for food, shelter, resources, housing as a veteran, or the one who can help? I look within and say to myself, 'I'm the one who can help. Why am I being selfish? Let's get to it.'"

Murray said the matching pledge amplifies the impact of every contribution.

"It's much easier to raise money when people know their money goes directly to what they care about and when they know they're leveraging additional funds," he said. "Var's offer of up to $50,000 as a match will enable us to raise $50,000. People will say, 'I give $100, Var gives another $100, my money goes farther and helps more people.'"

All donations are used to purchase grocery gift cards distributed through the center's existing client network at no administrative cost. They are also tax-deductible.

"Everything we do at Inner City Law Center is housing- and homelessness-related," Murray said. "Housing stability is at the core of everything else. If you don't have a stable place to live, a stable community, a safe place to lay your head, it's hard for anything else to function. Food is similar. If you can't eat, if you can't feed your kid, everything else is secondary. In some ways, food is even more fundamental than housing. People feel different about recognizing someone's going to go hungry."

Murray also encouraged bulk food donations to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, where he volunteers, noting its established distribution system allows it to scale far faster than the legal center's emergency response.

The Trump administration said Monday it would provide states with details on calculating partial household benefits. Loading SNAP cards--a process involving state and federal agencies and vendors--can take up to two weeks in some states. But the USDA warned in a court filing that system changes needed to distribute reduced benefits could take weeks or months. The average monthly benefit is about $190 per person.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his state needs about a week to load benefit cards once funding arrives.

"These are folks who are hungry, and every day matters," Bonta said.