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Despite years of economic recovery, with our extraordinary cost of living California leads the nation in poverty, with more than one in five living below the Supplemental Poverty Measure1<\/sup>. Hunger still above the levels seen before the Great Recession, with one in eight Californians suffering the devastating consequences of food insecurity2<\/sup>. California is home to the hungriest city in America, Bakersfield, as well as the fifth hungriest, Fresno. <\/p>\n Clearly, CalFresh is more vital than ever. The following resources are available to help CalFresh achieve its mission and prevent any attempts to cut the program:<\/p>\n The Economic Value of CalFresh. Key stat: Every $1 billion in CalFresh benefits supports at least 10,000 jobs, especially in rural areas for farmers to have markets for their products and customers for retailers \u2013 CAFB<\/em><\/p>\n \/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/factsheet_econantihungersnap_hyperlinks_121916.pdf\u200b<\/a><\/p>\n State & county-level CalFresh economic data. Key stat: CalFresh sent $7.1B in 100% federally-funded benefits in our 2016-17 budget year, supporting some 71,000 jobs statewide \u2013 CA Budget & Policy Center<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/calbudgetcenter.org\/resources\/calfresh-reduces-hunger-every-county-california-changes-federal-level-cut-benefits\/<\/a><\/p>\n Summary of SNAP\u2019s economic benefits nationwide \u2013 USDA<\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/topics\/food-nutrition-assistance\/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap\/economic-linkages\/<\/a><\/p>\n CalFresh lifts nearly a million Californians out of poverty, the most of any safety net program \u2013 Public Policy Institute of CA<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.ppic.org\/main\/publication_show.asp?i=870<\/a><\/p>\n Public nutrition programs provide 19 of every 20 emergency meals \u2013 private charities like food banks could never meet the need \u2013 Bread for the World<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/bread.org\/sites\/default\/files\/downloads\/2014_churches_hunger_fact_sheet.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n SNAP provides incredible anti-hunger & health benefits, but benefits are too low \u2013 White House<\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/sites\/whitehouse.gov\/files\/documents\/SNAP_report_final_nonembargo.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n Block grants would destroy CalFresh & lead to devastating hunger \u2013 Center on Budget & Policy Priorities<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.cbpp.org\/sites\/default\/files\/atoms\/files\/3-21-16snap.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n CalFresh only reaches about 2\/3 of eligible Californians, and only half of working families \u2013 USDA<\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.fns.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/ops\/Reaching2014.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n If CalFresh reached everyone, California would see an additional $2.5 billion in benefits and $4.5 billion in economic activity every year \u2013 CA Food Policy Advocates<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/cfpa.net\/CalFresh\/CFPAPublications\/LDEP-FullReport-2016.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n 1<\/span><\/sup>http:\/\/calbudgetcenter.org\/resources\/new-census-figures-show-many-californians-struggling-get\/<\/a><\/p>\nCalFresh as an economic engine<\/strong><\/h2>\n
CalFresh as the backbone of our anti-hunger safety net<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why CalFresh should be expanded, not cut<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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