On June 4th, representatives from the Food4All coalition met with members of Governor Newsom's staff to make a clear call for bold leadership and to remove any provisions in the final state budget that could further delay our state's commitment to expanding access to food assistance for Californians ages 55+, regardless of immigration status, set to begin October 2027.
Press the plus sign to read their powerful testimonies below.
Hi, My name is Maribel, Associate Director with Orale and we work in Long Beach and south bay area.
This issue impacts my family directly. My parents are now immigrant elders, and they represent a growing reality in our communities. At ORALE, 50% of our bi-weekly food distributions serve elder immigrants who depend on nonprofits, like ours, to put food on their tables. This shouldn't be their reality. Our elders deserve access to comprehensive food programs that truly nurture their wellbeing not just emergency handouts, but dignified support systems that recognize their contributions to our communities.
California has a history of standing with immigrants, and now we must stand with our immigrant elders. The reality is that for a large portion of immigrant elders, they have lived in this country for decades, far longer than they lived in their native homes. Like my parents, immigrant elders deserve food security and healthcare access. We strongly oppose the trigger-on language for CFAP expansion. We strongly oppose all cuts to Medi-Cal. Our immigrant elders cannot become collateral damage in this budget process. We are living in unprecedented times. We need bold leadership from all our elected leaders and our governor.
Buenas tardes,
Mi nombre es Norma Gómez, soy una Gerente de Proyectos con el Proyecto Mixteco/Indígena, y llevo más de 20 años con la organización. En nombre de MICOP y nuestra Directora de Políticas, Vanessa Teran, queremos primero agradecerle por apoyar la SB 1016 , la ley de Reducción de Disparidades Latinas e Indígenas. MICOP apoya, organiza y empodera a las comunidades Indígenas migrantes en la costa central de California.
Estoy aquí, como mujer indígena, de la nación Mixteca del estado de Oaxaca, Mexico, en nombre de la comunidad de pueblos originarios que viven y trabajan en la costa central cultivando las tierras que traen comida a las mesas de todos los Californianos y la nación.
Durante los últimos 10 años, he dirigido un sitio de distribución de comida en Oxnard y sus alrededores atendiendo a 300 familias mensualmente, lo que representa 3,600 familias al año con un promedio de 2 a 5 personas por familia, incluyendo niños, apoyando a más de 10,000 personas indígenas con seguridad alimentaria por año. Por esto y lo que esta pasando ahorita con la nueva administración federal quiero compartir con usted y el Gobernador lo que estoy escuchando y viendo en la distribución de comida para que puedan escuchar lo que la gente está enfrentando.
Primeramente, existe el temor de que la migra (ICE) llegue a los centros comunitarios de distribución, haciendo que los trabajadores agrícolas se queden en casa en lugar de ir a trabajar, hasta que pase el rumor o la verificación de que ICE está en los campos.
Pero también los miembros de la comunidad campesina expresan que el costo de la comida está aumentando y que sus ingresos son muy pocos para cubrir los gastos básicos. Debido a que el costo de la comida está subiendo, los productos básicos como los huevos, los frijoles, el arroz y el azúcar están subiendo cuando estos son los primeros productos que más necesitan las familias llevar a casa para sostener alguna forma de nutrición en sus vidas.
Y por eso, con el miedo a la inmigración y el alto costo de la comida, acuden a nosotros en busca de apoyo para obtener alimentos.
Humildemente podemos proporcionarles una pequeña bolsa de comida básica como la harina, arroz, aceite, frijoles, azúcar, pasta y sal. Además de esto también ofrecemos pañales cuyos precios también están subiendo y las familias que trabajan en los campos no tienen suficiente dinero para comprarlos porque guardan su dinero para poder pagar la renta, que está demasiado alta en esta zona en la que vivimos.
Por último le comparto que gracias a un estudio de la Comunidad Indígena Mexicana de San Luis Obispo que realizamos en mixteco y español pudimos descubrir que las familias de trabajadores agrícolas suelen pasar hambre durante el año, con casi dos tercios (64%) de los encuestados afirmaron que ellos u otros miembros de su familia no habían tenido suficiente dinero para comprar comida.
El hambre no debería ser un problema predominante en California, una de las economías más ricas del mundo. Por eso, les pedimos respetuosamente que apoyen a nuestra comunidad indocumentada en California, brindándoles acceso a la comida como un derecho humano.
Gracias.
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Good afternoon,
My name is Norma Gómez. I am a Project Manager at the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project, and I have been with the organization for over 20 years. On behalf of MICOP and our Policy Director, Vanessa Teran, we want to first thank you for supporting SB 1016, the Reducing Latino and Indigenous Disparities Act. MICOP supports, organizes, and empowers migrant Indigenous communities on California's Central Coast.
I am here, as an Indigenous woman from the Mixtec Nation of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, on behalf of the community of Indigenous Mexicans who live and work on the Central Coast, cultivating the lands that bring food to the tables of all Californians and the nation.
For the past 10 years, I have run a food distribution site in Oxnard and surrounding areas, serving 300 families monthly. This represents 3,600 families per year, with an average of 2 to 5 people per family, including children. This supports more than 10,000 Indigenous people with food security each year.
Because of this and what is happening right now with the new federal administration, I want to share with you and the Governor what I am hearing and seeing at the food distribution center so you can hear what people are facing.
First, there is fear that immigration enforcement (ICE) will come to community distribution sites, causing farmworkers to stay home instead of going to work until the rumor or verification that ICE is in the fields passes.
But members of the agricultural community also express that the cost of food is rising and that their income is too lowlittle to cover basic expenses. Because the cost of food is rising, basic items like eggs, beans, rice, and sugar are rising even though these are the first items families most need to take home to sustain some form of nutrition in their lives.
And so, with the fear of immigration and the high cost of food, they come to us for support to obtain food.
We humbly provide them with a small bag of basic foods like flour, rice, oil, beans, sugar, pasta, and salt. In addition to this, we also provide diapers, whose prices are also rising, and the families who work in the fields don't have enough money to buy them because they have to save their money to pay the rent, which is too high in this area where we live.
Finally, I want to share with you that, thanks to a study we conducted in Mixteco and Spanish inon the Mexican Indigenous Community of San Luis Obispo, we discovered that farmworker families often go hungry throughout the year. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed stated that they or other family members had not had enough money to buy food.
Hunger should not be a prevalent problem in California, one of the richest economies in the world. Therefore, we respectfully ask you to support our undocumented community in California by providing them with access to food as a human right.
Thank you.
Si quitara la ayuda de los cupones de comida seria muy difícil para las familias, como la mía, porque muchas de esas como yo, tendríamos que comprar la comida y no podríamos pagar otras cosas como pagar la renta, pagar los biles o medicinas seria todavía mas difícil para todos, y para mi me gustaría que antes de tomar una decision como esta de quitar el pan y alimentos a todos nosotros dios les tocara su corazon a cada uno de estos personas que dan su voto y que no quiten esa ayuda a las familias porque habra mas gente en la calle habra mas pobreza.
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If [cannot get access to food assistance], it would be very difficult for families, like mine, because many of those like me, we would have to buy the food and we could not pay other things like paying rent, paying the bills or medicines it would be even more difficult for everyone. For me, I would like that before making a decision like this to take the bread and food from all of us, God touch their heart to each of these people who give their vote and not to remove that help to families because there will be more people on the street and there will be more poverty.
Thank you to SIREN for connecting us with Esmeralda.
https://www.sirenimmigrantrights.org/
The Food4All coalition responded to the Governor's May Revise in the statement linked here, and has been taking action using the call script linked here. We stand with Health4All and our partners calling for no cuts to our safety net, for a California where everyone has access to the resources they need, regardless of where they were born.
Questions? Want to take action for Food4All? Learn more here and/or email jackie@nourishca.org.
