Increasing the reach of CalFresh is a critical opportunity to reduce hunger, improve health, and support our local economies.
CalFresh (known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) provides much-needed benefits for Californians to purchase food from a variety of retailers including grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and warehouse stores. For many years, California has ranked among the worst states in the nation when it comes to enrolling eligible households in CalFresh. Increasing the reach of this program is a critical opportunity to reduce hunger, improve health, and support our local economies.
Nourish California advances progressive policies to close gaps in equitable access to CalFresh.
CalFresh helps approximately four million Californians purchase food and stretch their household budgets to meet other basic needs. But the program fails to reach nearly two million more Californians who are eligible for benefits. This means less for all Californians—less nutrition assistance for eligible households and less economic activity for the state.
We advance policies to improve CalFresh enrollment, particularly among older adults and Californians who are working but still struggle to make ends meet. We also advocate policies that increase the purchasing power of CalFresh benefits, acknowledging the true cost of nutritious food and the true cost of living in California.
