CAFB Statement on Governor’s Proposed Budget

On Friday, Governor Newsom released his proposed 2026-27 State budget. We are grateful that this initial proposal, which will guide budget discussions in the months to come, protects critical anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs that many people facing food insecurity rely on every day. However, it does not address the nutritional needs of hundreds of thousands of Californians who face reduced CalFresh benefits or will lose eligibility entirely as H.R. 1 continues to roll out. We look forward to continued discussions with the legislature and the Governor to further strengthen food assistance programs and fortify food banks to meet the growing need for food security in our communities.

For the past four years, CAFB member food banks have distributed over 900 million pounds of food annually, serving an average of 6 million people per month. This, with the support of $60 million of CalFood funding for food banks to purchase food from California farms and manufacturers. A drop to $8 million annually for CalFood for the entire statewide charitable food network will further deepen food insecurity. Especially because California food banks received 38% less food from the USDA’s Emergency Food Program than in recent years prior.

While 6 million people per month may seem high, the true number in need is likely much higher, based on multiple independent research studies. The Public Policy Institute of California states that in 2023, 13.2 million Californians lived in or near poverty. The United Ways of California finds that over 12.4 million individuals living in working households in California did not have enough income to afford basic costs of living. This does not include an additional 1.1 million households below the affordability level that were led by someone with a disability, or over 180,000 people experiencing homelessness. Altogether, we calculate that approximately 14 million people, or one-third of the population in California, were not making ends meet in 2023 without needing some form of assistance.

This data is not surprising given the high cost of food. Groceries are the most common affordability concern among U.S. adults, and more than 1 in 5 households in California are facing food insecurity, while over 1 in 4 households with children are food insecure.

Food banks remain a lifeline in helping families to put food on the table, providing an essential service to more than 6 million people per month, while helping to meet people in critical times of need, be it a government shutdown, natural disaster, or looming cuts to SNAP due to H.R. 1. As federal support for food assistance drops, California’s leaders must step up to support the emergency food network and invest in solutions to mitigate harm to H.R. 1.

While we are grateful that this budget proposal continues to include the $8M baseline for CalFood to support food banks in purchasing California grown and produced foods, we look forward to working with budget stakeholders in the weeks ahead to increase this baseline to $60M and to include an additional $50M this year to feed the additional half a million individuals a month we expect at food banks as a result of H.R. 1.

Additionally, we celebrate the inclusion of several important hunger-fighting programs in the Governor’s budget proposal:

– School Meals for All: We are proud of California’s national leadership in establishing School Meals for All, and celebrate the Governor’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that we continue to nourish all children at school. We also celebrate the inclusion of 24.6 million for the Farm to School Program.

– SUN Bucks: California continues to help keep children fed over the summer. This budget proposal includes $73.4M ($36.7M general fund) in 2026-27 for transaction costs and outreach to support the state in providing an estimated $642.8M in federal food assistance.

– CalFresh: This budget proposal includes an increase of $382.9M to reflect the federal share of CalFresh administrative cost reduction from 50 percent to 25 percent due to H.R. 1. Administrative funding helps cover the costs of critical CalFresh operations, including support for the Restaurant Meals Program, EBT chip/tap, call centers, and other essential services. While we are grateful to see this funding included, it will not cover the full cost needed to support CalFresh administrative activities, including CalFresh Outreach. We are requesting $15 million in one-time funding to continue CalFresh Outreach activities during this time of major changes to CalFresh eligibility rules, ensuring as many eligible Californians as possible receive benefits.

Going forward, more must be done to mitigate harm to H.R. 1, as without action, CDSS estimates ~400,000 individuals will lose federal food aid.

Our full 2026 State Legislative Agenda can be found here. We look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to secure these vital food assistance resources in the final 2026–27 budget act.