Senate Budget Leaders Consider Funding Food4All
Published on May 12, 2021 in CalFresh, Immigrants, State Legislation
Senate Budget Leaders Seek to Prioritize Food4All
On May 11, the Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services heard the Food4All budget request for the second time this session. Nourish California was asked to provide testimony in support of funding Food4All in the 2021-22 state budget. Jared Call, Senior Advocate, shared findings from our recent research study about the experiences of Californians during the pandemic. Those findings showed an urgent need to provide additional food assistance to households who couldn’t meet their basic needs, especially undocumented immigrants who are shut out of CalFresh.
Jared thanked the Subcommittee for considering the Food4All proposal, which would modernize the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to provide state-funded nutrition benefits to all Californians ineligible for CalFresh solely due to their immigration status. He also noted that Food4All is a matter of equity in addition to being sound policy.
"Research shows that in addition to dramatically reducing hunger, access to CalFresh improves overall health outcomes and academic achievement. It also reduces health care costs and improves economic output over a participant’s lifetime. [Food4All] would permanently address the immigrant exclusion in the state’s nutrition safety net and be a major step forward toward a future where all Californians have the food they need." — Jared Call, Senior Advocate
Subcommittee Chair Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Modesto) was vocally supportive during her comments. She noted that good nutrition supports positive long-lasting outcomes, including higher academic achievement and reduced health care costs.
We'd like to thank the many organizations and individuals who submitted public comments to the Subcommittee in support of Food4All. Your voices and advocacy matter and are making a difference. Thank you.
What's Next?
On Friday, May 14, Governor Newsom will announce the May Revision of his proposed budget. We will be watching closely to see if he will prioritize Food4All as the Senate Budget has indicated they will.
The Assembly will also announce their budget priorities soon, and we will be looking to Assembly Leaders to include Food4All in their full proposal.
We hope you will join us in calling on state leaders to fund Food4All and ensure all Californians can access food assistance, with no exceptions and no exclusions. See below for ways to learn more and make your voice heard.
Join the Food4All Coalition
Stay connected to the campaign and help us build momentum for #Food4All. Join Today!
Amplify on Social Media
Use our Food4All Social Media toolkit to spread the word! It has everything you need to raise the need for Food4All with your networks and key decision makers: sample tweets and Facebook/Instagram posts, graphics, and target handles.
Questions? Contact: Muneera Gardezi at muneera@nourishca.org.
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