Food with Care (SB 1481) Passes Senate Education with Unanimous Support!
Published on Apr 1, 2022 in State Legislation, Young Children
SB 1481 (Becker): Food with Care passed out of the Senate Education Committee yesterday on a unanimous, bipartisan vote! Nourish California and the CACFP Roundtable, the bill’s cosponsors, would like to thank supporters of the bill for the strong showing at today’s hearing.
Over 20 organizations and individuals across the state submitted letters of support, and over 10 organizations expressed support during the hearing’s public comment period. We are grateful for all who took time out of their busy schedules to make their voices heard. Together, we can create a more equitable meal program in preschool and child care that ensures free meals for all kids and fair pay for providers. Thank you.
We would like to give a special thank you to Laura Diaz of Diaz Family Day Care. Laura's powerful testimony illustrated the challenges providers face serving meals amid rising costs and inadequate reimbursements. She also told the Committee how helpful SB 1481 would be to her and the families she serves. We appreciate her willingness to share her experience and expertise.
We would also like to thank Senator Becker for his leadership on SB 1481, and for his ongoing commitment to improving food the child care meals programs.
You can view the SB 1481 hearing testimony below.
What’s next?
We have three advocacy actions you can take right now in support of SB 1481:
1) SB 1481 now moves on to the Senate Human Services Committee. We invite you to submit a letter of support in advance of the hearing. Click here to download a sample letter with instructions on how to submit.
2) We are also advancing a state budget request to allocate the funding called for in SB 1481. Click here to read our budget sign-on letter add your organization in support of funding Food with Care.
3) Stay informed! Sign up to receive SB 1481 Food with Care updates at our Action Center. Join the Food with Care 2022 campaign here.
Have questions about upcoming advocacy opportunities? Contact Jared Call at jared@nourishca.org or Kameron Mims-Jones at kameron@nourishca.org.
Background: The Story of CACFP in California
We wanted to take a look back and recognize some important moments in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) history.
For decades, the state of California supported access to nutrition in child care by providing a state supplement to the federal reimbursement for meals served through the CACFP. Then, in 2012, as the state was facing budget shortfalls, this crucial funding was eliminated. It would take 10 years to return pre-recession era state reimbursements for meals being served to our state's youngest learners through the CACFP.
With adequate funding and support, the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program has the power to fill the gap inequitable access to healthy meals in child care while supporting the financial stability of the workforce.
As we work towards equitable policy solutions to pandemic recovery, we celebrate the leadership demonstrated by Senator Becker's legislation ensuring that our youngest learners have the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
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