Topic Category: CalFresh

Governor’s May Revision Falls Short on Nutrition Safety Net Investments

Posted on by Jared Call

Last Friday, Governor Newsom introduced his May Revision to the 2022-23 State Budget proposal. The newly proposed budget uses record anticipated revenue to make largely one-time investments and continue to build reserves. The Governor’s plan includes virtually no new ongoing investments in food and nutrition programs. The proposal falls well short of what is needed to address the longstanding inequities in our state’s nutrition safety net.

Budget Overview

The Governor’s budget projects $49 billion in discretionary revenues, $227 billion in General Fund spending, and builds reserves to $37 billion.  

The Governor’s May Revision makes no significant new investments in nutrition programs, but does continue investments in the broader safety net. It fulfills previous commitments to historic ongoing investments in school nutrition and health care for undocumented immigrants. Much more is needed, however, to address the historic rates of hunger experienced by Californians during the pandemic.  Low- and moderate-income Californians continue to bear the brunt of the economic impacts of COVID-19, particularly Black and Latinx individuals and families. The state must seize this opportunity to make long-term transformative changes to build a fair, just, and equitable safety net. Nourish California looks forward to working with the Legislature and Administration to ensure a final budget package reflects an equitable approach so that all Californians have the resources to meet their basic needs, including food.

Food and Nutrition

Below is an overview of major funding proposals relevant to food and nutrition.

Food4All: Expanding the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

Nourish California is disappointed that the May Revision did not include additional funding to expand eligibility in the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to immigrants of ALL ages ineligible for CalFresh solely due to their immigration status. We remain pleased that the Governor’s budget plan will expand CFAP to immigrants age 55 and over beginning in 2022-23, but the May Revision missed an opportunity to build a more equitable nutrition safety net — one that adequately supports ALL Californians when they need help putting food on the table. The Food4All Coalition calls on the Governor and Budget leaders to take a bold step to permanently address the unjust immigrant exclusion in the state’s nutrition safety net. Now is the time for California to dismantle racist and xenophobic exclusions, and invest in bolstering healthy communities and families in our state. 

Learn more and take action here: https://act.nourishca.org/campaign/food4all

Child Care Nutrition

Nourish California is disappointed the Administration’s 2022-23 May Revise did not include any additional funding for child care nutrition, specifically the Food with Care proposal. including no provisions to increase funding for child care meals. This despite the fact that child care providers – mainly Black, Brown, and immigrant women – are facing significant food hardship with more than half reporting often or sometimes running out of food.

Nourish California and Food with Care cosponsors the CACFP Roundtable will continue to call on the Governor and Senate and Assembly budget leaders regarding the importance of adequately funding child care and will lift up the need for dedicated child care nutrition funding in the state budget.

Take action: Sign the petition telling Governor Newsom to fund Food with Care in the state budget.

CalFresh

The May Revision includes no new significant investments or improvements in CalFresh, despite California families continuing to face high rates of hunger and inequitable access to food. Nourish California and our anti-hunger partners strongly urge the Governor and Legislature to prioritize expanding the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits program to provide a much-needed boost to CalFresh benefits.

Take action: Sign the petition telling Governor Newsom to boost CalFresh benefits in the state budget.

K-12 School Nutrition

The Governor proposes an increase to the 2021-22 budget’s historic investment in school nutrition programs. The May Revision increases annual funding for state school meal reimbursements by $611.8 million, reflecting the intent to match the current reimbursement rates happening under federal pandemic waivers. The waivers allow a higher rate of per-meal reimbursement than schools have typically received under the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. We applaud this tremendous investment in the health, well being, and nourishment of California kids. 

We also call on the Governor and the Legislature to ensure sustained funding to reach all students with the nutritious school meals they need. In years past, when the number of school meals served exceeded anticipated participation, schools  received a lower per-meal reimbursement from the state than expected. Such unanticipated budget shortfalls create undue burdens on school meal programs. Under the soon to be implemented School Meals for All policies, potential budget shortfalls would be especially disruptive. Nourish California strongly urges the Governor and Legislature to structure the reimbursement as an entitlement, or failing that, to provide for in-year assessments and adjustments that guarantee neither schools nor students will be not short changed.

Learn more and take action here: https://act.nourishca.org/campaign/every-kid

Emergency Food

The Governor’s January 10 budget proposal includes $50 million one-time funding for the CalFood program. While a significant investment in the state’s emergency food system, the Governor’s proposal falls well short of the heightened need food banks are still struggling to meet. Nourish California and the California Hunger Action Coalition are calling on the Governor to allocate $120 million ($60 million ongoing, $60 million one-time) for CalFood so that food banks can purchase California-grown foods.

Nutrition for Older Adults 

The Governor’s May Revision does not include any significant new investments in nutrition for older adults. 

Broader Safety Net and Income Support Proposals

Below is an overview of additional proposals in the Governor’s budget relevant to the health and well-being of low-income Californians.

Gas Tax Rebate

The Governor proposes allocating $11.5 billion of the record surplus to provide rebates to Californians paying higher prices for gasoline. The program would be administered through the DMV, sending Californians with a registered vehicle a debit card with $400 each for up to two registered vehicles. While the rebate would not be available for vehicles above a certain value, there is no information yet available on the vehicle value eligibility threshold.

The administration’s gas rebate fails to target record surplus dollars to Californians who need it most. According to the California Budget & Policy Center, Californians without cars are twice as likely to struggle to meet their basic needs. If state leaders want to invest in short-term relief, it should target aid to Californians who need help affording rent, food, medication, and transportation, and not at the expense of long-term investments in an equity-centered safety net. Nourish California calls on The Legislature and Governor to enact an economic relief plan that supports Californians who have borne the brunt of the pandemic and economic downturn, in particular Black, Latinx, women, and immigrant Californians.

Economic Support for Californians with Low Income

CalWORKS Grants

The May Revision includes an 11% increase to CalWORKs grants, but falls short of raising CalWORKs grants above deep poverty for all families. The Legislature can and should go further in its budget plan by providing an additional 18% grant increase for households with an excluded member, who are left out of the Governor’s proposed increase.

Refundable Tax Credits

The Governor’s revised budget maintains his January proposals to modestly expand certain refundable tax credits, including the Young Child Tax Credit, and a new tax credit for former foster youth. Disappointingly, it does not include any new proposals to expand the California Earned Income Tax Credit at a time when many Californians with low and moderate incomes need economic support to meet their basic needs and get back on their feet.

SSI/SSP Grants

The 2021-22 state budget included a 24% increase to the state portion of the SSI/SSP grants, and also committed to providing an additional substantial increase to SSP grants in January 2024. While advocates applaud the increase, older adults and people with disabilities need additional economic support as soon as possible. The Governor’s May Revise fails to accelerate these long overdue grant increases, even as SSI/SSP recipients struggle to make ends meet on a fixed income while the cost of basic needs like food and housing spike. The Governor should adopt the Senate budget plan to accelerate the grant increases to provide relief as soon as possible.

Homelessness and Housing

The May Revision maintains the governor’s January homelessness proposals and adds several new proposals to address homelessness,including:

  • An additional $150 million in 2022-23 for the Homekey program, bringing total proposed Homekey funding to $2.9 billion over two years. 
  • An additional $250 million General Fund each year in 2022-23 and 2023-24 for grants to local governments to create interim housing on state-owned land intended as transitional housing pending the development of more long-term housing solutions.

Despite the additional funding to address the homelessness crisis, the Governor’s May Revision represents a missed opportunity to invest in more long-term affordable housing. 

Health Care

We are pleased that the Governor’s May Revision maintains the January proposal to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to undocumented immigrants ages 26 to 49, meaning beginning in 2024, all undocumented immigrants in California will be eligible for comprehensive Medi-Cal coverage. Nourish California applauds the Governor for this step toward a more equitable health care system, and call on him to do the same for vital food assistance by fully funding Food4All.

What’s Next?

The Legislature is currently holding hearings to discuss the Governor’s May Revision. Negotiations between the Administration and Legislature will now begin in earnest. The Legislature has until June 15 to pass the budget bill and the Governor’s must sign the final budget no more than 12 days following the bill’s passage.

Critical nutrition priorities will continue to need broad and vocal support to be included in the final budget package. You can stay up to date on our budget advocacy and receive timely calls to action by visiting our Action Center. Make your voice heard to help ensure that all Californians have the food they need to thrive.

Questions?

Contact Jared Call at jared@nourishca.org or 323.401.4972

Food4All is making headlines!

Posted on by Jackie Mendelson

Food4All is making headlines. The California Legislature and Governor Newsom announced an agreement on the 2022-2023 state budget on June 26 which includes funding to remove exclusions to food assistance for Californians 55 and older, regardless of immigration status. With this historic investment, California will be the first state in the nation to provide food assistance benefits to older undocumented adults. We will continue to urge Governor Newsom to expand CFAP nutrition benefits to immigrants of all ages, regardless of immigration status in the next state budgets. No exceptions! No exclusions!

Check out what the media is saying about Food4All:

Join our Food4All movement! Visit our action center for Food4All advocacy opportunities!

Questions? Contact Betzabel Estudillo at betzabel@nourishca.org.

 

New Brief: Food Insecurity & Poverty Among California’s Undocumented Immigrants

Posted on by Tia Shimada

On Friday, April 29, 2022, Nourish California and the California Immigrant Policy Center released a brief that pairs a novel analysis of quantitative data with community voices to demonstrate the impact of food insecurity on California’s undocumented immigrants.

Read the full brief.

∗NEW∗ View the infographic.

Watch the recording and view the slides.

Have questions? Please contact Tia Shimada (tia@nourishca.org).

Support Boosting CalFresh Benefits as AB 2153 (Arambula) Heads to Assembly Appropriations

Posted on by Jared Call

Support Boosting CalFresh Benefits as AB 2153 (Arambula) Heads to Assembly Appropriations

Published on Apr 27, 2022 in CalFresh, State Legislation

We are thrilled to share that AB 2153 (Arambula) the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion, passed out of the Assembly Agriculture Committee today! Nourish California and SPUR, the bill’s cosponsors, would like to thank supporters of the bill for the strong showing at today’s hearing.

Over 40 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 dramatically increase the number and geographic diversity of CalFresh households who can access supplemental benefits, and move the program one step closer to becoming a permanent supplement to CalFresh. Thank you.

We would like to give a special thank you to David Barber-Dunham and members of the Community Council under the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative. David's powerful testimony illustrated the challenges CalFresh participants face affording the foods they need and want to stay healthy. He also told the Committee how helpful supplemental benefit programs have been for him as a !Mas Fresco! participant and that AB 2153 would benefit more people in his situation. We appreciate his willingness to share his lived experience.

We would also like to thank Assemblymember Arambula for his leadership on AB 2153, and for his ongoing commitment to improving food access for Californians with low income.

What’s next?

We have three advocacy actions you can take right now in support of AB 2153

Now that the bill has passed it's policy committee hearings in the Assembly, the bill is moving to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Join us in asking the Committee to move the bill on to the Assembly Floor!

Here are four easy ways to support boosting CalFresh benefits:

1) Call and/or Email these key Legislators:

Please also contact your Assemblymember if they are listed below as members of the Appropriations Committee (find your Rep here):

Sample script: 

Hi, my name is _____ and I live in ______. I’m calling to urge Assemblymember ______ to support AB 2153, a bill that will boost CalFresh benefits to help people afford the foods they need and want to stay healthy. It will also support California farmers and grocery retailers. Please support AB 2153. Thank you. [Or choose one or more of the following reasons or tell them your own]

  • This important bill will help families afford the foods they need to stay healthy and help alleviate the economic strain farmers are currently facing.
  •  In the long-term, AB 2153 will position the program to become permanently available to CalFresh families throughout California
  • No one should go hungry in the great state of California. Food is an essential part of a full and healthy life. AB 2153 is a “win- win-win” that reduces hunger, improves public health, and boosts California’s agricultural economy.

2) Show your support on social media!

Tweet or post your support and tag key members, especially Assemblymember Holden (@ChrisHoldenNews) and Speaker Rendon (@Rendon63rd).

Sample tweets:

#AB2153 is a “win- win-win” that reduces hunger, improves public health, and boosts California’s agricultural economy @ChrisHoldenNews @Rendon63rd https://bit.ly/3EQLbsI

Support AB 2153, the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion. Fight hunger, improve health, and support California agriculture @ChrisHoldenNews @Rendon63rd https://bit.ly/3EQLbsI

AB 2153 will bolster households' food budgets and help make California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable for Californians with low incomes. Support AB 2153! @ChrisHoldenNews @Rendon63rd https://bit.ly/3EQLbsI

3) We are also advancing a state budget request to allocate the funding called for in AB 2153.

Click here to read our budget sign-on letter add your organization in support of funding the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion.

4) Stay informed! Sign up to receive AB 2153 updates at our Action Center.

Background

Fruit and vegetable supplemental benefit programs, which provide CalFresh participants with matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables, make food more affordable while also supporting California farmers. Numerous organizations have piloted these initiatives, also commonly known as healthy food incentive programs, at grocery stores and farmers’ markets in California. Evaluations from those programs in California, and others nationally, show that they reduce hunger, improve health, and boost the agricultural economy.

We applaud Assemblymember Arambula's leadership to boost CalFresh and move a major step closer to a statewide supplement benefits program. We need your help to show broad support to the Legislature. You can support AB 2153 by joining our campaign and taking one or more of the actions above today!

Questions? Contact: Jared Call at jared@nourishca.org.

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Sign the Petition! Ask Governor Newsom to Fully Fund Food4All

Posted on by Muneera Gardezi

Dear partners & allies:

The Food4All proposal would expand the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) nutrition benefits to California immigrants of all ages, who have been excluded from CalFresh solely due to their immigration status. In January, the Governor included funding in his 2022-2023 proposed budget to remove exclusions from the CFAP regardless of their immigration status, but only for Californians ages 55 and older. The Food4All Coalition is circulating a petition addressed to the Governor to fully fund Food4All to provide food assistance to California immigrants of all ages in the 2022-2023 State Budget. Please take a minute today to show your support for Food4All and this this petition.

Sign the Food4All Petition

Click here to read the petition and sign-on as a supporter.

Food4All Petition Social Media Toolkit

Use our social media toolkit to spread the word! Click here for some sample tweets and graphics (both in English and Spanish) to share the petition.

Questions? Contact Muneera Gardezi at muneera@nourishca.org

 

CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable Benefits (AB 2153) Passes Assembly Human Services!

Posted on by Jared Call

 

AB 2153 (Arambula) passed out of its first hearing in the Assembly Human Services Committee today. Nourish California and SPUR, 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 dramatically increase the number and geographic diversity of CalFresh households who can access supplemental benefits, and move the program one step closer to becoming a permanent supplement to CalFresh.  Thank you.

We would like to give a special thank you to David Barber-Dunham of San Diego. David’s powerful testimony illustrated the challenges CalFresh participants face affording the foods they need and want to stay healthy. He also told the Committee how helpful supplemental benefit programs have been for him and that AB 2153 would benefit more people in his situation. We appreciate his willingness to share her experience and expertise.

We would also like to thank Assemblymember Arambula for his leadership on AB 2153, and for his ongoing commitment to improving food access for Californians with low income.

Click here to watch the video of the AB 2153 Assembly Human Services hearing.

What’s next?

We have three advocacy actions you can take right now in support of AB 2153.

1) AB 2153 now moves on to the Assembly Agriculture 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 AB 2153. Click here to read our budget sign-on letter add your organization in support of funding the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion

3) Stay informed! Sign up to receive AB 2153 updates at our Action Center. 

Have questions about upcoming advocacy opportunities? Contact Jared Call at jared@nourishca.org.

Background

Fruit and vegetable supplemental benefit programs, which provide CalFresh participants with matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables, make food more affordable while also supporting California farmers. Numerous organizations have piloted these initiatives, also commonly known as healthy food incentive programs, at grocery stores and farmers’ markets in California. Evaluations from those programs in California, and others nationally, show that they reduce hunger, improve health, and boost the agricultural economy.

We applaud Assemblymember Arambula’s leadership to boost CalFresh and move a major step closer to a statewide supplement benefits program. We need your help to show broad support to the Legislature. You can support AB 2153 by joining Nourish California and our co-sponsors, SPUR, in sending in a letter of support today.

Sign-On Today! Tell State Budget Leaders to Boost CalFresh Benefits

Posted on by Jared Call

Sign-On Today! Tell State Budget Leaders to Boost CalFresh Benefits

Published on Mar 23, 2022 in CalFresh, Older Adults, State Legislation

CalFresh helps over 4.5 million people put food on the table, but the federally-set benefit levels limit participants' ability to purchase enough food to last through the month. Supplemental benefit programs provide matching dollars tied to the purchase of California-grown vegetables and fruit. These matching programs operate locally across the state to make purchasing food more affordable for Californians with low-income.

This urgent budget proposal will expand California Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits to be available to hundreds of thousands of households across the state. This will, in the short-term, help families afford the foods they need to stay healthy and help alleviate the economic strain farmers are currently facing. In the long-term, it will position the program to become permanently available to CalFresh families throughout California.

It is a “win-win-win” that reduces hunger, improves public health, and boosts California’s agricultural economy.

Take Action

Join Nourish California and SPUR in calling on state budget leaders to fund the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion in the 2022-23 State Budget. Boost CalFresh benefits and support California agriculture.

Read our budget request letter here and fill out the short form below to add your name and upload your organization's logo to be added to the sign-on letter.

Budget Request Sign-On: CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion

  • Max. file size: 50 MB.
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Questions?

Contact Jared Call at jared@nourishca.org.

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AB 2153 (Arambula) Heads to First Hearing, Show Your Support Today!

Posted on by Jared Call

AB 2153 (Arambula) is headed to its first hearing in the Assembly Human Services Committee.

This urgent bill will expand California Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits to be available to hundreds of thousands of households across the state. This will, in the short-term, help families afford the foods they need to stay healthy, cushion the CalFresh benefits cliff looming as pandemic-era Emergency Allotments expire, and help alleviate the economic strain farmers are currently facing. In the long-term, it will position the program to become permanently available to CalFresh families throughout California.  It is a “win-win-win” that reduces hunger, improves public health, and boosts California’s agricultural economy.

Submit a letter of support for AB 2153: The bill may be heard as early as April 4. To be counted, letters of support must be received by the Committee no later than noon, March 25. Don’t wait, submit, yours today!

Click here for a sample letter and directions on how to submit it to the Committee.

Background

Fruit and vegetable supplemental benefit programs, which provide CalFresh participants with matching dollars when they buy California-grown fruits and vegetables, make food more affordable while also supporting California farmers. Numerous organizations have piloted these initiatives, also commonly known as healthy food incentive programs, at grocery stores and farmers’ markets in California. Evaluations from those programs in California, and others nationally, show that they reduce hunger, improve health, and boost the agricultural economy.

We applaud Assemblymember Arambula’s leadership to boost CalFresh and move a major step closer to a statewide supplement benefits program. We need your help to show broad support to the Legislature. You can support AB 2153 by joining Nourish California and our co-sponsors, SPUR, in sending in a letter of support today.

What’s next?

Stay up to date on AB 2153 as it advances through the Legislature, and receive timely calls to action to make your voice heard in support of improved CalFresh access. Sign up to receive email updates at our Action Center.

Questions? Contact Jared Call at 323.401.4972, or visit our AB 2153 homepage.

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