As part of the California Hunger Action Coalition (CHAC), Hunger Action LA urges you to support anti-hunger legislation in Sacramento in 2022 to fight hunger and poverty in California. Much of this legislation was developed by our partners at statewide organizations especially the California Association of Food Banks and Nourish CA.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: In 2020-2021 the pandemic resulted in increased hunger across the state. Fortunately there was also a tremendous increase in the state's budget surplus. This allowed Californians to allocate substantial resources to the fight against poverty last year, including:

• the largest increase in monthly payments to seniors and disabled persons recieving SSI in decades
• the nation's first universal school meals program, set to provide free meals to all school kids regardless of income
• steps toward expanding the CalFresh program to all hungry Californians regardless of immigration status (Food 4 All)

Let us know if you can participate in Hunger Action Week 2022. From May 9 to May 13 we will be setting up virtual meetings with legislators from the Los Angeles area to educate them about the legislative priorities below.

Here's the legislation we're supporting, and would love for you to speak out on:

Emergency Food Bank Funding – Budget Requests

• Bolster the Emergency Food System through Continuing COVID-19 Crisis & Beyond: 1) $120 million ($60M on-going; $60M one-time) for CalFood program to purchase CA grown foods; 2) $180M one-time: Capacity Improvements and Climate & Disaster Resilience; 3) Increase State Disaster Food Assistance Program (SDFAP) from $1 million to $10 million to meet the scope of disasters and maximize responsiveness.

Immigrant Food Access

• Food4All/SB 464 (Hurtado): Maintain commitment made in the 2021-22 State Budget to permanently fund the expansion of the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to provide state-funded nutrition benefits to all Californians ineligible for CalFresh due only to their immigration status.

CalFresh Access & Benefit Adequacy

• CalFresh for College Students/SB 641 (Skinner): Continue California’s leadership to improve access for college students by preventing hunger and supporting successful college completion.
• SB 1965: Protect unemployed Californians from the harsh federal “work for food” ABAWD time limit for CalFresh.
• CalFresh Pre-enrollment Upon Re-entry: Prevent hunger and support successful re-entry for community members returning from incarceration.
• CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Pilot: Expand the Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot to boost benefits for a greater number of CalFresh households in more diverse regions of the state. (This program, if the pilot is successful, will put supplemental benefits on CalFresh cards for users all over the state, when they purchase California grown fruits and vegetables. )

Older Adults & People with Disabilities – Budget Requests

• Enact the vision outlined in the Master Plan for Aging to Prevent Poverty and Hunger for SSI recipients: 1) Accelerate part two of SSP grant cut reversal to 2023 and lift all grants above Federal Poverty Level; 2) Include SSI recipients in future Golden State Grants; 3) Fulfill the “hold harmless” goal of the Supplemental and Transitional Nutrition Benefits by ensuring parity with the updated Thrifty Food Plan for CalFresh.

School-Age Kids

• School Meals for All/SB 364 (Skinner): Build on California’s historic School Meals for All victory by continuing to invest in healthy, California grown and prepared school meals and in child hunger prevention for periods when school campuses are closed (BOOST). Update, modernize, and increase security and privacy protections for school income data collection needed to maximize federal nutrition funding and other purposes.

Kids Age 0-5 & Child Care

• Food with Care: Fair Pay for Providers. Free Meals for All Kids - Lift the State Meal Reimbursement pay penalty for child care meals; Expand free child care meals to all kids by enabling all child care providers to receive the highest federal reimbursement rate for meals served.