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2016 Anti-Hunger Bills in Review

October 7, 2016 By Carly

Last Friday, September 30^th marked the Governor’s final deadline to sign off on bills approved by the state legislature in 2016. This session was full of satisfying victories and disappointing losses. After months of traveling up to Sacramento to testify in policy hearings, meeting with and educating our elected officials on the issue of hunger, and organizing community members to send letters and make phone calls in support of these bills, here’s how it all shook out:

Let’s start with the good news…

AB 1747 (Weber) Address college student hunger by expanding CalFresh outreach to students, increasing access to CalFresh restaurant meal programs, and requiring public colleges to provide surcharge-free access to EBT.
AB 2057 (Stone) Clarify laws concerning replacement benefits for CalFresh recipients fleeing domestic violence.
SB 1232 (Leno) Require counties that use electronic employment databases to verify earned income in a way that is both transparent and helpful to low-income CalFresh applicants.
SB 1339 (Monning) Improve processing of inter-county transfers for CalFresh/CalWORKs/Medi-Cal recipients.

Before getting to the bad news…

AB 1584 (Brown) Increase Supplemental Security Income (SSI/SSP) grants for food and living expenses by automatically applying an annual cost of living adjustment.
- Although this year’s state budget included a one-time cost of living adjustment that will be added SSI/SSP grants on January 1st, 2017, the Governor vetoed this bill which would have automatically added cost of living adjustments each year. In his veto message he made clear that it was not because the bill was unworthy, but because he wants these issues dealt with in the budget process.
AB 1770 (Alejo) Update CalFresh eligibility standards to include all legally present immigrants and refugees who meet all other eligibility rules.
- The Governor vetoed this bill. In his veto message he made clear that it was not because the bill was unworthy, but because he wants these issues dealt with in the budget process.
AB 2054 (Thurmond) Design a Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children program (SEBTC) to provide nutrition assistance benefits to eligible households during the summer when kids lose access to school meals.
- This bill died in committee and never passed the legislature.
AB 2151 (Chu) Increase CalWORKs special diet or food preparation needs allowance and allow for various health professionals to determine need.
- This bill died in committee and never passed the legislature.
AB 2131 (Maienschein) Create a specialty John Lennon “Imagine No Hunger” license plates, the proceeds from which would fund CA Food Banks.
- This bill died in committee and never passed the legislature.
AB 2768 (Thurmond) Provide a tax credit for prepared food donations to soup kitchens and hot food providers. Position: Support
- This bill died early in committee and never passed the legislature. Organizations can still donate certain prepared foods, but they will not get a tax credit for it.
SB 904 (Hertzberg) Prevent counties from opting-out of federal waivers that lift CalFresh’s three-month benefit time limit for Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) when unemployment is high.
- This bill died in committee and never passed the legislature. Counties will voluntarily opt-in to lifting time limits for CalFresh recipients if they qualify based on their unemployment rate.

In a number of his veto letters, the Governor indicated that he would prefer to handle these issues through the state budget process, rather than as bills. The Food Bank will continue to advocate for our top priority issues that weren’t passed this year, and we look forward to engaging with the Governor and others through the state budget process and others. To learn about the anti-hunger investments that were made in this year’s state budget, read our article published in the East Bay Times!

Food Bank Has Programs For Children

March 1, 2016 By Larry

Originally posted on the Vacaville Reporter: An astonishing one out of five children within our community is food-insecure. Child hunger doesn’t just affect children. It affects parents and our society as a whole.

When children grow up with chronic hunger, we know that they experience significant physiological damage because their growing bodies don’t get the nutrition they need. Children also suffer psychological damage because they don’t have the sense of security that comes from knowing where their next meal is coming from.

Food is the most basic daily need. As a parent myself, I can imagine the anguish a parent faces when they struggle financially to the point where they can’t always have enough food to feed their children. Not being able to provide for your child destroys a parent’s self-worth. Many parents face it on a daily basis and many more found themselves in this boat for the first time during the housing crash in 2008.

Studies have shown that food-insecure children fall behind their friends in academic achievement. Children are the future of this country, as we all know, so not providing adequate nutrition now will ultimately negatively affect all aspects of this nation.

To address child hunger, we have programs at the Food Bank that cater specifically to children. Farm 2 Kids helps low-income children have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. We partner with after-school programs in low-income areas in eligible school districts. Children take home three to five pounds of produce weekly.

Our School Pantry Program provides nutritious, nonperishable food to students attending qualified low-income schools. Located on school grounds, the pantries offer middle school and high school students access to groceries on an as-needed basis.

The Food Bank is an important resource for children in need within our community, and we also conduct outreach to educate families with children about other resources available to them. We work with the county to help enroll families in the CalFresh program. Through this program families receive benefits to purchase groceries helping to stretch their limited budgets. CalFresh is the most effective nutrition assistance program at pulling families out of poverty.

In three short months, schools will be out for the summer. When my children were growing up, summer just meant adjustments to our family routine because school was no longer in session. We never thought about our children not having enough food because school is out.

Unfortunately, the reality for many children is that summer breaks mean less food is available to them. That’s why the Food Bank advocates for the Summer Food Service Program at the government level.

Also, we perform outreach locally to educate families about this federal nutrition assistance program that helps children 18 and younger. We believe that no family in our community should ever have to send a child to bed hungry.

If you are interested in donating to the Food Bank to help us end child hunger, please visit www.foodbankccs.org/childhunger.

The author is executive director of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, based in Concord. Email: info@foodbankccs.org.

Farm Bill Passes in the House, Sent to the Senate for Vote Next Week

January 31, 2014 By Lisa

Originally posted by our friends at Feeding America San Diego: After three years of negotiations, the House of Representatives has approved the Farm Bill by a vote of 251-166, with 15 members not voting on Wednesday, January 29, 2014.

The Senate is expected to begin procedural moves this week so that a Senate vote on the Farm Bill will take place on Monday next week.

Highlights from the nutrition title include the following (all numbers are based on a ten-year budget):

$8.55 billion cut to SNAP by tightening the “Heat and Eat” policy, which would affect the following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
$205 million increase for TEFAP. The TEFAP funding would be front loaded to provide greater resources in the initial three years of the bill, with an additional $50 million in FY2015, $40 million in FY2016, $20 million in FY2017, $15 million in FY2018 and FY2019, $16 million in FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022, and $17 million in FY2023. The funding is indexed for food price inflation. This funding also has the same transfer authority as TEFAP mandatory funding, allowing states to transfer up to 10% of the funding into TEFAP storage and distribution grants.
Establishes the Dairy Donation Program. If dairy prices fall below a specific price trigger for 5 consecutive months, USDA is authorized to begin a dairy purchase program, with the dairy products going to public and private nonprofit organizations, and with instructions for USDA to consult with nonprofits on the type of dairy products requested. While there is no set cost, this would provide additional commodities much like TEFAP bonus commodities do when prices are low enough to trigger USDA price support.
$250 million for states to pilot innovative programs help SNAP participants get back to work.
Clarifies allowable SNAP outreach activities (for example, forbids outreach workers from receiving rewards on a per-head basis for number of applications processed).
Improves SNAP access by allowing SNAP home delivery for homebound seniors and disabled participants.
Promotes access to nutritious food by tightening stocking requirements for SNAP retailers and testing new ways to use EBT cards (for example, swiping on a mobile device at a farmers’ market).
Improves SNAP integrity through new measures to combat trafficking of benefits by retailers and recipients and policy changes forbidding benefits for lottery winners and affluent college students.
Transitions the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to a senior only program, allowing women and children currently participating in the program to remain on the caseload.
Protects SNAP nutrition education.

While, elements of this bill are positive, the cuts to SNAP are devastating for Californians and people in other states impacted by this cut. Please call Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and tell them “Vote NO on the Farm Bill. I oppose all SNAP cuts.” The number to use is the Capitol Switchboard: (202)-224-3121.

Local Congressman Votes Against Increasing Hunger in America

September 19, 2013 By Lisa

Guest post from Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA): Today, Congressman John Garamendi, a rancher, pear farmer, and a Member of the House Agriculture Committee, voted against H.R. 3102, a partisan bill that would slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by nearly $40 billion, thereby denying food assistance to at least four million low-income Americans. The measure narrowly passed the House by a vote of 217 to 210.

Congressman John Garamendi released the following statement:

“We live in the richest nation on earth, yet one in five American children go to bed hungry. Nearly 50 million Americans, including many of our friends and neighbors in Northern California, struggle to put food on the table – through no fault of their own. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays a vital role in feeding the hungry, preventing millions from slipping into destitution, and helping people get themselves back on their feet. Indeed, more than 9 in 10 Americans on SNAP are children, seniors, disabled, or already working.

“SNAP has been a bipartisan success story. As President Reagan said, ‘As long as there is one person in this country who is hungry, that’s one person too many, and something must be done about it.’ This week, bipartisan Senate Leaders Bob Dole and Tom Daschle wrote an op-ed urging Congress to ‘Stop playing politics with hunger’ and reject this bill. They also point out that ongoing improvements to regulate the program have kept fraud and abuse to an historic low of less than 2%. The bipartisan Farm Bill passed by the Senate this year continues these reforms.

“H.R. 3102 breaks with this bipartisan tradition. The bill throws a monkey wrench into the work requirements for SNAP recipients found in the 1990s Welfare Reform Law. It eliminates employment opportunities by cutting job training programs. The bill’s pernicious legislative text would encourage states to pocket the savings from taking food away from their most impoverished residents. H.R. 3102 would take away school breakfast and lunch for 210,000 children. The bill would eliminate food assistance for one in five veterans and hundreds of thousands of seniors, disabled people, and low-income working Americans. At a time when so many Americans are struggling to get by, these draconian cuts would plunge even more people into extreme poverty.

“This bill will also weaken our nation’s farm and rural economies and jeopardize any chance of passing a new farm bill to support our nation’s farmers, ranchers, food security, conservation, and rural communities.”
Facts on SNAP:

Every dollar spent on reducing hunger adds $1.70 to the economy
The number and percent of people who struggle with hunger (i.e. meet the USDA definition of “food insecure”) in California’s Third Congressional District counties: Solano: 64,360 (15.6%), Sacramento: 243,470(17.3%), Yolo: 35,100 (17.6%), Sutter: 19,000 (20.2%), Yuba: 15,290 (21.3%), Colusa: 4,210 (19.8%), Lake: 12,990 (20.2%), Glenn: 5,080 (18.1%).
The number and percent of children who struggle with hunger: Solano: 21,120 (20.7%), Sacramento: 86,390 (23.8%), Yolo: 10,960 (24.4%), Sutter: 8,110 (31.1%), Yuba: 6,910 (33%), Colusa: 2,120 (19.8%), Lake: 4,530 (32.7%), Glenn: 2,350 (29.7%)
The rate of fraud and abuse in SNAP is less than 2%.
By contrast, the rate of error and fraud in the federal income tax system equals about 15 % of taxes legally owed. That is, about 15 % of the income taxes that are owed go unpaid.
The House bill eliminates food assistance for more than 170,000 veterans, or nearly one in five veterans. An estimated 3 million veterans and their families don’t get enough to eat each month.
One in five children (16 million) struggle with hunger, a record high.
22 million of all SNAP recipients are children (45% of the total).
There are nearly 4 million people over age 60 who are enrolled in SNAP, with the typical senior household with an average income under $10,000
In 2011, SNAP lifted the incomes of more than 1 million women above the poverty line.
Nearly 1 in 4 American Indians and Alaskan natives struggled with hunger in 2008.
The average SNAP benefit equates to roughly $1.40 per person per meal
There are two million fewer jobs than at the start of the recession
SNAP currently has work requirements which can be waived by the states during times of high unemployment. 46 states – including almost every Republican Governor – have sought waivers in FY13 to provide SNAP for those looking for work and repeatedly over the last ten years.
SNAP recipients live in all areas of the country – about 40 percent live in urban areas, 40 percent in suburban areas, and 20 percent in rural areas.
Sources and Resources: Agriculture Committee Short Summary of the bill, LA Times Article by Senators Dole and Daschle, Inspector General of the United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Feeding America, Agriculture Committee detailed summary, and Feed Our Vets.

Challenging Myself to Experience Hunger

September 11, 2013 By Lisa

Next week, the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is joining with Feeding America to encourage people to take the Hunger (SNAP) Challenge part of Hunger Action Month. For one week, particpants will live on just $4.50 a day, the average daily benefit per person provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as Food Stamps and known as CalFresh in California).

It is not too late to sign up! If you would like to participate, please fill out the form on our Hunger Action Month page.

Below is an update that was posted to LinkedIn by Ron Shaich, founder, chairman, & CEO at Panera Bread.

Panera Bread founder, chairman, & CEO Ron Shaich shops for groceries in preparation for the SNAP Challenge. (source)

Last week, there was an article on the front page of The New York Times entitled, “On the Edge of Poverty, at the Center of a Debate on Food Stamps.” The article sheds light on the reality of food insecurity in America – millions of families that “look like we are fine,” according to one man, but in reality, “live on the edge of poverty, skipping meals and rationing food.”

The families featured represent only a handful of the nearly 49 million people in America who, very simply, are hungry. We live in the “land of plenty,” and yet nearly 48 million people receive food stamps and 16 million children go to bed hungry.

Whether or not we talk about it, acknowledge it or pay attention to it, hunger is a serious and real problem in the United States.

And yet, despite everything I have learned about hunger and the various efforts I’ve undertaken to try to make a dent in the problem, I have never actually experienced hunger firsthand. I’m not talking about the hunger that comes after skipping a meal. I’m talking about not knowing when or where my next meal will come from on a regular basis. I’m talking about having to decide between paying for an unforeseen medical or housing expense versus buying food to feed my family for the month.

That’s why, as part of Hunger Action Month, I decided to take the SNAP Challenge. For one week, beginning Saturday, September 14, 2013, I will live on just $4.50 a day, the average daily benefit per person provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as Food Stamps). I am also extending the challenge to Panera’s Societal Impact Steering Committee, the group responsible for helping Panera leverage its core competencies to help create real change and lasting solutions against hunger. Another partner of mine in this challenge will be Bob Aiken, the CEO of Feeding America.

To be perfectly honest with you, I’m nervous. As the SNAP Challenge week approaches, I feel a sense of fear about my budget, what kinds of food I’ll be able to afford, the impact that the Challenge will have on my work and ability to concentrate. However, as the CEO of a company that is committed to making a difference in our communities, it is critical that I understand this problem in a deep and personal way.

I am aware that this challenge only lasts one week. And I understand that many millions of people, including some of Panera’s own employees, have encountered more prolonged and painful bouts of food insecurity. My week is merely a simulation of what so many millions deal with every day. To be clear, I don’t mean to trivialize anyone else’s experience or claim mine as an authentic representation of what food insecurity looks like. Rather, my hope is to inspire other leaders – in business, government and the nonprofit world – to take on the challenge of food insecurity as their own. In the process, I also hope to inspire myself to continue to innovate and find new solutions to the problem of hunger.

Throughout my Challenge, I will be posting updates on LinkedIn. I will walk you through my shopping experience on the $31.50 weekly budget, my meals, my feelings, my energy level. I also hope to share information about the different solutions out there – from federal assistance to food pantries. And I’ll share insights gained from Panera team members taking part in the challenge.

If you feel inspired to take part in the challenge yourself, visit www.hungeractionmonth.org for more information. As ever, please share your experiences on the SNAP Challenge or with other Hunger Action Month activities in the comments section.

I’ll be back on September 14 to start sharing about my Challenge. As my friends at Feeding America say, Together We Can Solve Hunger™.

Join Mr. Shaich and get a sense of what life is like for those struggling to put food on the table with the average benefit for people who receive SNAP/CalFresh. Sign me up for the Hunger Challenge!

The original content of this post can be found at http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130909205336-25745675-challenging-myself-to-experience-hunger.

USDA Releases New Food Insecurity Report During Hunger Action Month

September 4, 2013 By Lisa

Breaking News – The United States Department of Agriculture reported today that 14.5 percent of American households (15.6% in California) remain food insecure, meaning those households had difficulty at some time during the year in providing enough food for all their members.

When it comes to food insecurity rates, any number is too high. That’s why the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano — along with the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks — is asking you take action this September during Hunger Action Month.

Here are three easy actions you can take:

GO ORANGE! Orange is the official color of hunger awareness and makes a bold statement to start the conversation about hunger. Join us tomorrow, September 5, by wearing the color orange. Or show your support online by making your Facebook and Twitter profiles orange. Don’t have any orange? We’ve got you covered. Fill out this form to receive Go Orange materials to share with friends and family.

EXPERIENCE the Hunger Challenge happening September 16-20. Can you shop and eat for just $4.50 a day? Get a sense of what life is like for those struggling to put food on the table with the average benefit for people who receive SNAP (formerly Food Stamps). Sign me up for the Hunger Challenge!

SHARE a hunger fact with friends, share the action calendar or just share a great pic of your Go Orange activities with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, #HungerAction.

Ready to take action? Check out a list of actions you can take during Hunger Action Month and beyond!

Together, we can solve hunger.

U.S. Senate and House Consider Cuts to Food Stamps

May 14, 2013 By Lisa

Original post by: Jessica Bartholow, Legislative Advocate, Western Center on Law and Poverty. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate will mark up the farm bill this week in their respective committees; the Senate on Tuesday, May 14, and the House on Wednesday, May 15.

In the Senate, the agriculture committee chairwoman’s farm bill draft included a $4.1 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), increasing the likelihood of hunger for millions of families.

The House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas released this first draft of the farm bill into committee on Friday. His draft would cut SNAP (formerly food stamps) by $20 billion over 10 years. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), a member of the agriculture committee, said the bill “would make hunger worse and not better.”

During the mark-up, after the chair offers the first draft, committee members have the opportunity to propose and vote on any amendments, or changes, to the bill. Once a final version is voted out of committee, leadership then adds it to the schedule for a floor vote. Both House and Senate leadership have indicated they would like a farm bill on the summer agenda.

Any cuts to SNAP would prove devastating for vulnerable Americans, including over 4 million low-income Californians who depend on the program to prevent hunger. SNAP participants are already facing a reduction in benefits—on Nov. 1, a temporary program boost that was included in the 2009 stimulus package will expire. Even more alarming: a recent Institute of Medicine study concluded that the way in which the benefit level is calculated for SNAP is inadequate for a healthy diet. Inadequate as existing levels are, just this expiration will reduce the average benefit to about $1.40 per person per meal, reports the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities.

Cutting the program by $20 billion over 10 years would reduce the benefit even further and increase food insecurity. This is why one in seven Americans polled oppose cuts to the program.

Western Center on Law and Poverty has been working with other allies in the state to oppose the cuts. “Cutting the nutrition safetynet for our poorest families is not necessary and it is cruel, increasing the likelihood that poor Americans, most of whom are children, will experience the indignity of hunger,” says Jessica Bartholow, a legislative advocate based in Western Center’s Sacramento Office.

For more information about the 2013 Farm Bill, go to: www.frac.org.

Sequestration Update and Call for Immediate Action

February 27, 2013 By Lisa

This Friday, March 1, unless the Congress acts, automatic federal budget cuts under “sequestration” will go into effect. These cuts will impact a number of vital services critically-important to low-income people.

Tomorrow, the Senate will vote on the American Family Economic Protection Act (pdf), the Senate Democrats’ bill to avoid sequestration. The proposal would prevent cuts to education, public health, nutrition and other vital services by replacing them with more gradual cuts to the Pentagon, setting a minimum tax for millionaires and closing some corporate tax loopholes.

Take Action: Contact your Senators immediately and urge them to vote for the American Family Economic Act when the bill comes up for a vote tomorrow afternoon (Feb. 28).

Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Phone:(202) 224-3841

Sen. Barbara Boxer

Phone:(202) 224-3553

Here is a sample of what could happen if these budget cuts go into effect:

600,000 low-income women and young children could be cut from the WIC program
19 million fewer meals for seniors from programs like Meals on Wheels
5,000,000 fewer low-income families receiving prenatal health care and other services that help decrease infant mortality and improve maternal health
112,190 fewer victims of domestic violence receiving services
750,000 Americans losing their jobs
$2.4 million cut from funding food banks need to store and distribute food at a time of increased demand and tightened resources.

Questions? Please contact me (Lisa Sherrill) at (925) 676-7543 extension 206 or lsherrill@foodbankccs.org.

Call Congress Today! It’s Easy!

November 28, 2012 By Lisa

Today (November 28), Feeding America and other national partners are hosting a national call-in day to mobilize advocates across the country in opposition to cutting hunger-relief programs and protecting tax incentives to encourage food and fund donations as part of a deal on the Fiscal Cliff.

Call in Details:

As Congress debates how to address the looming Fiscal Cliff, we must urge them to do it the right way. Help us show Congress that cutting programs that help feed struggling families is not the way to balance the budget.

Here’s how:

Call using Feeding America’s toll-free hotline at 866-527-1087.
Listen to the pre-recorded message and enter your zip code when prompted. Connect to your Senators first.
Once you are connected to your first Senator, state that you are a constituent and give your name and the town you are calling from.
Let them know you are calling about anti-hunger programs and deliver this important message:

I urge you to oppose cutting SNAP and other hunger-relief programs as part of any deal on the Fiscal Cliff and to continue to protect tax incentives to encourage food and fund donations to food banks. Cutting programs that put food on the table for hungry Americans is not the way to balance our nation’s budget.

Be sure to repeat the process so that you speak with your Representative and both of your Senators.

Today — October 22 — is the last day to register to vote!

October 22, 2012 By Lisa

We urge you to register to vote in the election on Tuesday, November 6.

If you live in California, it’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. REGISTER

Online at http://registertovote.ca.gov/

2. GET INFORMED

Find out what’s on your local ballot at www.smartvoter.org: type in your address to get your polling place and the list of races on your ballot, along with links to candidate statements and summaries of propositions.

3. VOTE!

Once registered, go to the polls on or before November 6!
If you prefer to vote by mail, request a vote-by-mail ballot from your County Elections Office no later than October 30, and be sure to mail it well in advance of November 6!

How was your day?

July 26, 2012 By Guest

Guest post by Ambassador Laura Collins: “How was your day?” Do you ever get asked that question? Typically we answer with a simple “fine” or “great”, believing that it is just a courtesy question anyway.

Well on June 5 when asked that question, I did say “great”, but I also felt it was important to follow up with why it was great. I spent my lunch time at the Concord warehouse of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano with a roomful of dedicated hunger fighters! As part of the Food Bank’s ambassador program, each of the people there have represented the Food Bank at community events, helped coordinate food drives, volunteered at distribution sites, done outreach to the community for Calfresh (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), helped with fundraisers, and networked at Chamber of Commerce events. Our goal is to educate our community on hunger issues, promote awareness and to also dispel myths concerning those receiving food assistance. By the way, did you know that 1 in 4 emergency food recipients are children? And over 35% of our clients had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage? (Once an ambassador you can’t pass up any opportunity to slip in a few quick facts!)

Along with the ambassadors, Food Bank staff was on hand also, to cheer us on and inspire us to continue our outreach. As we introduced ourselves many ambassadors, like myself, credited outreach coordinator Patty McDowell with spearheading our efforts to get us out there in the public eye. Coordinating with the community and other staff members Patty leads the ambassador program and is always on the lookout for more recruits! (Hint, Hint)

Executive Director Larry Sly was there to speak about the future of the Food Bank, and I have to say, he was on fire! After 36 years with the Food Bank he is still passionate about the mission, if not more. His goal is to make nutritious food more accessible to the people who need it. He was very excited to tell us about the new Community Produce Program. Thanks to generous support from donors in our community, the Food Bank is able to purchase a beverage-style truck complete with canopies and side doors that open up, for the purpose of delivering fresh produce to communities in need. It’s simple and effective and families go home with fresh produce such as pears, oranges, apples, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and carrots. Fresh, nutritious food that they may not have been able to put on their family’s table otherwise. Larry wants the Food Bank to work as smart and as efficient as possible, and he thanked us for getting our communities involved through volunteering, donating and advocating.

As I looked around the room, I saw vital, busy people, several working full time, that still find time to care about their community and try to make a difference. Just like them, I came to the Food Bank hoping to lend my skills to help in a meaningful way, and along the way I found that our community is clearly excited and eager to see us succeed.

So, how was your day?

Farm Bill Update: SNAP Cuts Pass House Ag Commitee

July 19, 2012 By Lisa

From the St. Anthony Foundation blog written by Colleen Rivecca, Advocacy Coordinator: Thanks to everyone who joined in on the national call-in day to support SNAP in the Farm Bill. Here’s an update on the Farm Bill action from July 11.

On Wednesday, July 11, the House Agriculture Committee voted to accept $16 billion in cuts over 10 years to SNAP (the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”, also known as “food stamps” or “CalFresh” here in California). A group of Representatives (Reps. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Joe Baca of California, Peter Welch of Vermont, Marcia Fudge of Ohio and Terri Sewell of Alabama) attempted to reinstate $16 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, but their amendment failed on a 15 to 31 vote.

What would the $16 billion in cuts to SNAP mean for California?

Put restrictions on the use of “Categorical Eligibility”. In California, AB 433 of 2008 (one of our Hunger Action Day bills) implemented modified Categorical Eligibility in California, extending CalFresh to individuals whose income is low enough for them to qualify but who have assets (savings, retirement funds) that would make them ineligible. Restricting the use of Categorical Eligibility in California would make approximately 177,000 low-income households ineligible for CalFresh.
Put restrictions on the use of the “Heat and Eat” option. In California, AB 6 of 2011 (another one of our Hunger Action Day bills) will, starting January 1, 2013, increase CalFresh benefits by $43/month for about 200,000 California households by allowing them to automatically qualify for a deduction for utility payments. The Farm Bill amendment to restrict the use of Heat and Eat will limit states’ abilities to automatically allow for a utility deduction.

What happened and why?

SNAP enrollment has risen from 19 million in 2002 to 46 million in 2012. Those who favor cutting SNAP see SNAP spending as a drain on the economy and are trying to cut costs by identifying what they call “loopholes” used by states to ease SNAP enrollment. Two of the “loopholes” they’re trying to close are Categorical Eligibility and Heat and Eat. As House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas stated, “SNAP’s resources have been stretched because this administration has encouraged states to take liberties in how the program is administered”.

Anti-Hunger advocates who support SNAP see the program as an important economic stimulus and point out that SNAP enrollment is supposed to rise during times of economic difficulty, when more people are experiencing job loss, poverty, and hunger. As the economy improves, SNAP enrollment rates will go down. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the share of the population that participates in SNAP will fall back to 2008 levels in coming years and that SNAP costs as a share of the economy will fall back to their 1995 level by 2019.

Anti-hunger advocates see streamlining efforts such as Categorical Eligibility and Heat and Eat not as loopholes, but as tools to reduce administrative burdens on states and on SNAP participants while helping to ensure that hungry low-income people are able to access nutrition benefits. Categorical eligibility helps low-wage working families with children and seniors with modest savings to qualify for SNAP. Heat and Eat helps reduce paperwork and allows low-income people who don’t have utility bills in their name, but who still pay utility costs, to receive a SNAP benefit that is above the minimum benefit level of $16 per month. A cut to Heat and Eat would disproportionately affect seniors, the disabled, and working poor families with children.

Next Steps:

There is still a lot of dissention in the House of Representatives around the Farm Bill. Although it has passed through the House Agriculture Committee, there doesn’t seem to be much support for the bill in the full House. The more conservative members of the House would like to see the bill’s price tag cut down further. The more liberal members of the House don’t like the Farm Bill in its current form because of the SNAP cuts.

To further complicate matters, the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill differs significantly from the House’s version. It is unclear at this point whether either house of Congress will bring the Farm Bill to the floor for a vote before the current version of the bill expires in September. They may decide to extend the current Farm Bill until the November election and to deal with creating a new Farm Bill at a less politically contentious time.

We will continue to keep you updated on upcoming opportunities to contact your representatives and advocate for a fair Farm Bill that does not hurt hungry people.

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