Food Banks Provide Comments at Tulare Farm Bill Listening Session, 2/14/23

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Last week, at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15), held a Farm Bill listening session. It was a full house, with attendees such as farmers, ranchers, producers, and agribusiness owners. It also included bipartisan Members of the House Committee on Agriculture: Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA-20), Rep. David Valadao (CA-22), Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21), Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Rep. David Rouzer (NC-07), Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Rep. John Rose (TN-06), and Rep. John Duarte (CA-13). =

From CAFB, Senior Policy Advocate Itzúl Gutierrez attended, along with Natalie Caples from Central California Food Bank, Cassidie Bates from Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties, and Derek Polka from Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to lift up the importance of SNAP (CalFresh). Collectively, they spoke about the need to increase SNAP benefit amounts, end the harsh ABAWD time-limit rules and college student rules, and increase funding for TEFAP. Their presence was very much felt and appreciated by several California members of Congress. Notably, Rep. Carbajal thanked food banks for attending and speaking about SNAP in his closing comments!

Some highlights from the event:

If we ever hope to eliminate food insecurity in our nation, SNAP and TEFAP are the vehicles in the farm bill that will help us accomplish that goal.”

Natalie Caples, Central California Food Bank

Students that are hungry are less effective students. SNAP not only helps them succeed, it helps them to graduate and to go on to thrive in their communities.”

Cassidie Carmen Bates, Food Bank of Contra Costa Solano

Emergency allotments will end and a major hunger cliff is arriving here in CA and the nation. California cannot make up for the $500 million a month in benefits lost. Neither can food banks. This is why we need to address SNAP benefit adequacy in the Farm Bill.”

Itzúl Gutierrez, CAFB

We must protect those who are willing to come here and do the work that no other Americans are willing to do and that’s work in our agriculture — our farm workers.”

Representative Jimmy Panetta

…[making sure] the farm bill builds on nutrition SNAP assistance and appreciate hearing from food banks in this regard…”

Representative Salud Carbajal

When you’re well-fed, you have the luxury of having lots of problems. When you’re hungry, you have one problem.”

Representative John Rose

Partners across the country tuned in and celebrated our comments on social media to strengthen and protect SNAP. Many news outlets covered the event, and Natalie was quoted in FERN.

We are grateful to Itzúl, Natalie, Cassidie and Derek for taking the time and traveling to the event to attend and speak. By all showing up together, we ensured California food banks’ united voice and valuable perspective on hunger and the need to protect SNAP were included on the official record.