We Thank California Budget Leaders for Shoring Up the Nutrition Safety Net. More is Needed to Address the Ongoing Hunger Crisis. 

California Food Banks® is grateful to Governor Newsom and the Legislature for their actions in the August Budget agreement to strengthen the food safety net. The state must go further to protect Californians from hunger. 

We applaud the additional $10 million for CalFood for fiscal year 2026-27. It will bring fresh, healthy, California-grown foods to many of our neighbors who need help putting food on the table. And we are pleased by the $15 million investment to pilot a first-of-its-kind program that will provide school meals to K-12 students when public schools are not in session, such as during Spring Break or Thanksgiving Break. Hunger doesn’t take a break when school is out. We must recognize that food banks and school meals programs alone cannot hold back hunger in our communities. 

In our state with such abundance, one in four adults experienced food insecurity in the past year—and hundreds of thousands of Californians are at risk of losing vital CalFresh benefits in the coming months. We are disappointed that budget leaders did not take action to expand food assistance to this affected population by updating the California Food Assistance Program rules, especially in light of the thousands of humanitarian immigrants who have already been cut off from federal food assistance. 

​​Given the deep cuts that have been made to the safety net, it is critical that California has data to measure the impact of federal policy changes on food insecurity in the state. ​The $1 million funding for the UCLA California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) will help gather valuable data about the impacts of H.R. 1 cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (CalFresh). This will equip policymakers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. with information on how these policies increase hunger and harm our communities.   

​​​“Thank you to our anti-hunger champions in the legislature and Governor Newsom. Your actions will help shore up the nutrition safety net amid harmful federal policies and rising costs of living. While these are positive steps, much remains to be done. California Food Banks® and our partners will continue to advocate for policies to ensure everyone in California has enough to eat.” – Stacia Levenfeld, CEO, California Food Banks® 

We look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature to continue advancing a hunger-free California in the 2027-28 state budget.