Farm Bill Update

The Farm Bill Conference Report was released yesterday, December 10. Full text is available here.

Our joint statement on the Report with California Food Policy Advocates, County Welfare Directors Association of California, and Western Center on Poverty and Law is available below, and a pdf is here.

Final passage is expected later this week, at which point we will post more detailed information about how the legislation affects California.

— Statement —

Yesterday, the Farm Bill Conference Report was published, including a Nutrition Title that protects the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California. In particular, we applaud that the bi-partisan Report rejects the work requirement expansion proposed by the House Farm Bill and would have increased hunger for so many Americans. Anti-hunger advocates and partners across the county fought hard to prevent this short-sighted proposal from becoming law. We are grateful for the dedicated work by so many California leaders who are responsible for this outcome. We are thankful to live in a state where policymakers are taking proactive steps against hunger – from city halls and county boards of supervisors to the state legislature and in our Congressional and Senate Delegation.

We are also eager for a renewed conversation about hunger in 2019. Despite some declines in food insecurity, more than 40 million Americans struggled with food insecurity at some time during 2017, including 11.2% of Californians (USDA) and two of America’s hungriest cities—Bakersfield (1) and Fresno (3)— are located in California’s Central Valley, which feeds the world (FRAC). SNAP is our nation’s most important anti-hunger program and California’s first line of defense against hunger. We look forward to opportunities to strengthen SNAP and the nutrition safety net that are proven to fight hunger and provide long-term health and economic benefits to our nation.

We support passage of the final bill based on the Conference Report, and will issue a detailed statement about the impact of the legislation in California after the bill is signed into law.

Please contact Rachel with any questions – rachel[@]cafoodbanks.org