An estimated 2.4 million Americans will lose their SNAP benefits as a result of a nearly $200-billion cut to the program, the largest in its history. Over 15,000 people in Contra Costa and Solano Counties will be impacted, including seniors, parents with children, and veterans.
“…in one year, we have lifted 2.4 million Americans, a record, off of food stamps.”
Last week, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano President and CEO Caitlin Sly attended the 2026 State of the Union in Washington, D.C. as a guest of Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10). Read the Q&A below to hear her reflections on this year’s speech and what food banks across the country must do in this critical moment.
Q: Why did you feel it was important for the Food Bank to have a presence at the State of the Union?
A: To me, it was an opportunity to represent the 79,000 households we serve each month who are making impossible choices between food and staying housed, food, and medicine, and food and keeping the lights on.
We are at such a critical time, with the largest SNAP cuts in the history of the program taking effect, with devastating cuts to healthcare, and with attacks on our most vulnerable communities. Advocacy has always been important for our work, but we are at the point where it could not be more important to speak up for the people we serve.
To have the platform to highlight not just our neighbors and our food bank, but the issues facing all food banks — and everyone impacted by these policies — was an honor for me.
Q: What was your main takeaway from the President’s remarks regarding our work fighting hunger?
I think the most concerning and frustrating part of the speech was early on, when we said he had “lifted” 2.4 million people off SNAP (CalFresh in California, formerly known as food stamps).
That is simply not true. This administration has kicked these people off SNAP. In Contra Costa and Solano, over 15,000 of our neighbors are going to lose access to their SNAP benefits because of these cuts. They are not “lifting” people off of anything. They are taking food off our neighbors’ tables.
The SNAP program is the most efficient and effective way of ending hunger in this country. When it works, children perform better in school, workers stay employed, seniors stay healthy, and communities thrive. But with these cuts, we are seeing the cycle of poverty accelerate in real time. Our country is facing a basic needs crisis.
What does the Food Bank need to do to fight hunger in this moment?
Giving food out is critical to our mission, but it will never solve hunger alone.
Cuts to SNAP, attacks on immigrant families, reduced support for seniors – these aren’t abstract policy debates. They’re grocery bags that didn’t make it to kitchen tables.
We must continue to fight to roll back these harmful cuts, to strengthen our safety net instead of cutting it out from under those who need it most. Hunger in America is a policy choice, and I believe food is a human right. We have the resources, the knowledge, and the systems to end it. What we need is political will.
I’m grateful we have local elected officials, like Congressman DeSaulnier, who understand our mission and perspective. And I’m grateful that we have a team of staff, volunteers, donors, and partners who I have the privilege of doing this work alongside.
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