California SNAP Stakeholders Denounce House H.R. 1 Vote that Makes Historic Cuts to Federal Food Assistance

Joint Statement Highlights Devastating Impacts to Hunger, Grocers, Local Governments, and California’s Food Economy

California leaders representing all sectors of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — including grocers, eligibility and retail labor forces, county administrators, and anti-hunger leaders — are united in our continued opposition to H.R.1, the budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week. We are extremely disappointed that several California Members voted for the largest cut to food assistance in history. 

The bill makes a historic 30% cut to SNAP, and is a direct attack on California’s most vulnerable residents. It would dismantle SNAP, known as CalFresh in California, our most effective anti-hunger program that helps 5.5 million low-income Californians afford groceries. 

For California, the stakes are massive not just to food security, but to the very foundation of our food economy. The state’s share of the roughly $300 billion cut – a 30% cut – to federal SNAP assistance is approximately $36 billion. 

This would strike a devastating blow to our communities and local economies, causing the loss of some 488,000 jobs statewide (using USDA ERS’ factor of 13,560 jobs per $1 billion in SNAP), from grocery store workers to truck drivers to farmers and farmworkers. Grocery stores will close, creating food deserts that harm rural economies, and farmers will suffer a $30 billion loss nationwide. 

These cuts will spike food insecurity, permanently overload local food banks which are already stretched, ultimately pushing working families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities deeper into poverty.  Already, 1 in 4 nationally are taking on grocery debt just to afford food. 

State and county governments will be left to manage the fallout—with fewer federal resources to do so. Counties will face increased pressure on their human services departments, while the state will see greater demand for emergency food, public health, and housing programs. This is an unfunded mandate that shifts the burden to local county governments already stretched thin.

The bill also imposes cuts of even greater magnitude to Medicaid, jeopardizing health care access for millions. Taken together, these proposals would widen inequality, undercut the stability of our communities, devastate states and county governments, and undermine our state’s ability to meet basic needs.

We urge Members of Congress who voted for this legislation to meet with SNAP stakeholders, including participants, to understand how truly devastating this bill is. The Senate must reject this harmful legislation, and listen to the clear call from families that they need more help, not less, to afford food, healthcare, and other basic needs. 

Congress must prioritize the health and well-being of everyday Californians — not cut vital programs for the millions of Californians struggling to get by.

Signed by/quotes from partners: 

“Make no mistake, this legislation reverses progress on decades of work to fight poverty-related hunger, and consigns our children to an unthinkable future of food insecurity,” said Shimica Gaskins, President and CEO of End Child Poverty California. “If that weren’t enough, the bill undermines pathways out of poverty by devastating our food economy, leading to store closures, food deserts, and hurting the very jobs we need to expand access to the California Dream. It is astonishing that California Members of Congress voted for this legislation. Should the Senate return a bill to the House, we implore them to do the right thing for the children of their communities.”

“Elected officials often ask how they can add grocery stores to their community. Voting to pass devastating cuts to SNAP will have the opposite effect. The proposed cuts will have a chilling effect on the wellbeing of low-income families who currently have regular access to stores where they can redeem their SNAP dollars for fresh and nutritious food,” said Leticia Garcia, Director of state Government Relations for the California Grocers Association. “In many underserved neighborhoods, SNAP recipients make up the majority of a store’s customer base. Without that support, many of these stores will be forced to close their doors. Grocery stores are economic anchors and essential sources of health and well-being. We urge congress to reject these cuts to protect SNAP and support our local communities.”

“California food banks are already stretched thin, serving more than 6 million people each month. There is no way that food banks can make up for the amount of food households would lose as a result of these cuts to SNAP,” said Stacia Levenfeld, CEO at California Association of Food Banks. “For every meal a food bank provides, SNAP delivers nine. We urge Congress to reject these cuts and protect SNAP; a proven program that not only fights hunger, but protects jobs in our communities.” 

“It has been shocking to see California Members of Congress vote against the interests of the very people they were elected to represent. At a time when people are working harder than ever just to stay afloat, our leaders should be expanding support, not slashing it to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy,” said Keely O’Brien, policy advocate at Western Center on Law & Poverty. “This bill threatens to take food off tables, puts 400,000 California jobs at risk, and rips $54 billion out of our local economies to funnel even more wealth to insatiable billionaires. These are not just numbers on a page, they represent lost jobs, empty refrigerators, hungry children, and shattered futures. California’s economy cannot thrive while its families suffer. We are calling on our representatives to stand on the side of dignity, compassion, and justice, not greed and cruelty. Our communities are watching.”

“If enacted, these cuts to the SNAP program would be devastating and have ripple effects throughout our social safety net,” said Carlos Marquez III, Executive Director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California. “Having access to fresh and nourishing food is a human right; making children and families hungry to lavish more tax breaks for the wealthy is unconscionable. Further, this cut would cut deeply into counties’ service delivery infrastructure, compromising timely access to food assistance, housing, health care, and child welfare services for the vulnerable children, families and seniors in our communities. No California member of Congress can, in good conscience, support this legislation.” 

“UFCW members are proudly on the front lines of the SNAP program, helping parents and seniors buy the groceries they need for their families,” said Amber Parrish, Executive Director, UFCW Western States Council. “Make no mistake, these cuts will not only worsen hunger, but by taking away critical grocery resources, they will cut the very fabric of our food economy. It’s a double gut punch: workers will lose their jobs as families cannot afford food, and then SNAP food assistance won’t be there to help them as they look for their next job.”