CAFB Statement of President’s Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Daniela Ogden (510) 350-9919

President’s Budget Proposes Deep Cuts That Would Worsen Hunger, Health and the Economy in California

President Trump released his FY 2019 budget yesterday proposing more than $213 billion in deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (known as CalFresh in California) over the next ten years, nearly a 30% cut to one of the nation’s most successful federal programs. The budget blueprint outlines a harsh vision for our country that would increase hunger and hardship for everyday Californians. The California Association of Food Banks strongly urges all members of the California Congressional Delegation to oppose cuts to SNAP and other vital programs that help lift millions of Californians out of poverty.

SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, reaching more than 4 million food insecure Californians annually. The president’s budget includes several proposals that would undermine the strength, efficiency, and reach of the program we know today.The budget calls for radically restructuring the delivery of benefits, limiting choice and shifting more than $260 billion in food purchases from the individual household to the government in the form of a USDA food box. Further, the budget blueprint slashes benefits for nearly every SNAP household, including the elderly, individuals with disabilities and families with children.

The President’s proposal would also upend SNAP’s successful and efficient public-private partnership that drove approximately $12 billion in economic activity last year — supporting markets for producers and customers for local retailers. SNAP, not private charity, is the front-line against hunger. Food banks know the importance of the program because 19 out of every 20 emergency meals come from the federal nutrition safety net. There’s no way food banks could make up cuts of this scale, which would increase hunger and hardship throughout the state.