June 25, 2026

Sacramento, CA – California’s SNAP stakeholders – representing grocers, county administrators, labor unions, public health and other anti-hunger advocates – urge California’s Senators and the Senate Agriculture Committee to reject the proposed Farm Bill put forth by Committee Chairman Boozman (R-AR).  

The draft Senate Farm Bill does nothing to mitigate the extreme harm that H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill, is causing to recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits nationwide. In California alone, the H.R. 1 provisions put hundreds of thousands of Californians at risk of losing the critical food assistance they receive through SNAP, known as CalFresh in California. The state estimates that nearly 1 million CalFresh recipients will be at significant risk of losing eligibility in the coming year. Some individuals have already been cut off due to the discriminatory and xenophobic federal policies enacted in H.R. 1 that limit access to food benefits, including for survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence as well as refugees who were admitted legally to the United States, individuals and families who helped U.S. troops or are escaping war-torn countries.

Moreover, a staggering 770,000 children have lost SNAP food assistance since H.R. 1 went into effect, despite the assurances of Congressional leaders who passed the legislation that children would be protected. The evidence is clear that even in states committed to access such as Massachusetts, H.R. 1’s cruel cuts and paperwork reporting are overwhelming systems and causing even eligible children to lose SNAP access and now face potentially lifelong harms. 

Congress still has time to act. The Farm Bill presents a critical opportunity to reverse the harmful SNAP provisions included in H.R. 1. Unfortunately, the Chairman’s proposal does nothing to reverse the damage H.R. 1 will do to this critical program. In addition to the time limits and elimination of eligibility for humanitarian immigrants, H.R. 1 also contains enormous cost shifts that will jeopardize states’ ability to maintain their current programs. In California alone, these cost shifts will push billions of dollars onto the state.

The Chairman’s proposal will be considered by the Committee in the coming weeks. We urge a “No” vote on this bill. No Farm Bill, farm relief package, or other related legislation should move forward unless it reverses H.R. 1’s SNAP cuts and cost shifts.

Signatories:

“Food Banks across the state are already serving 6 million people per month, with hundreds of thousands more turning to food banks as they systematically lose eligibility in SNAP later this year. This Farm Bill should invest in both farms that produce food, and families needing help putting food on their tables. Congress must act to undo the cuts and cost shifts to SNAP that were passed in HR1 to help our veterans, seniors, children, and families across the country. We urge the Senate to only consider a Farm Bill that reverses the SNAP cuts and state cost shift.” – Stacia Levenfeld, Chief Executive Officer, California Association of Food Banks

“H.R. 1 doubles down on failed “proof of work” rules proven by decades of research to block eligible people from the lifesaving food assistance to which they are entitled, and pushes people further into poverty-related hunger. H.R. 1 vastly expands the 3-month period before documenting work hours is required to many more, extremely vulnerable individuals. This increase of people subject to the time limit imposes an unsustainable workload onto counties who are on the front lines implementing these changes, and shifts unprecedented costs onto local governments by halving the federal share of program funding. We ask California’s Senators to insist that any Farm Bill reverse these changes and strengthen SNAP as our nation’s premier program to improve food access and affordability.” Carlos Marquez III, Executive Director, County Welfare Director’s Association of California.

“Millions of children and families across the country are already losing access to the food they need because of the devastating cuts enacted through H.R. 1. Since its passage, SNAP participation has fallen by nearly 5 million people nationwide. In California alone, more than 6% fewer individuals are receiving CalFresh, with especially troubling declines among households that only include children. Congress and this administration still have the power to reverse these harmful cuts. What they cannot reverse is the lasting physical, emotional, and developmental harm caused when children go hungry and families are forced to choose between food, housing, and other basic necessities. Every month of inaction means more empty refrigerators, more missed meals, and more children carrying the burden of hunger. We urge the Senate to act now, restore critical food assistance, and protect children and families from the preventable hardship and suffering these cuts are causing.” Shimica Gaskins, President/CEO, End Child Poverty California.  

“We urge our Senators to vote ‘No’ on any bill that fails to fully restore and protect SNAP. The Chairman’s Farm Bill proposal locks in the cruelty of H.R. 1 cuts and chooses a future of heightened poverty, educational deficits, and long-term economic decline for the United States. H.R. 1 stripped away critical food assistance funding to bankroll tax breaks for billionaires and corporations. In California, this will result in the elimination of food benefits for 34,000 refugees, survivors of domestic violence, and families escaping imminent danger, and for over half a million Californians facing expanded work reporting paperwork barriers. This avoidable crisis will force people into impossible trade-offs between food, housing, and healthcare, and puts people’s lives at risk.” Cori Racela, Executive Director, Western Center on Law & Poverty

“The California Retailers Association urge the Senate to reject any Farm Bill that fails to reverse H.R. 1’s devastating SNAP cuts. Since H.R. 1 passed, nearly 5 million people nationwide have lost SNAP access, and California retailers are already feeling the impact in communities we have served for generations. SNAP drives billions in grocery sales that sustain jobs and neighborhood markets across our state, and every month Congress fails to act, that harm compounds in ways no future bill can undo. If this trend continues, we are heading toward a hunger crisis that will strain food banks, emergency services, and communities far beyond what any future relief can quickly repair. We urge the Senate to pass a Farm Bill that restores SNAP and reverses H.R. 1’s cost shifts.” Leticia Garcia, Director Government Relations, California Retailers Association

“At a time when families are facing higher food prices and increasing food insecurity and economic uncertainty, Congress should be strengthening our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program and not making it harder for people to access food. The Chairman’s proposal ignores the devastating harm already caused by H.R. 1, which has pushed hundreds of thousands of people, including children and humanitarian immigrants, out of SNAP and put over one million more Californians at risk of losing benefits. California’s families need solutions that reduce hunger and strengthen all of our communities. We urge the Senate to reject any farm bill that fails to reverse these harmful cuts, delays the unprecedented SNAP cost shift to states, and protects access to food assistance.” – Angeles Nelson, Senior Policy Advocate, Nourish California 

Elected officials often ask how they can add grocery stores to their community. Voting to pass a Farm Bill that does not reverse cuts to SNAP will have the opposite effect. Cuts to SNAP have a chilling effect on the wellbeing of low-income families who currently have regular access to stores where they can redeem their SNAP dollars for fresh and nutritious food. In many underserved neighborhoods, SNAP recipients make up the majority of a store’s customer base. Without that support, many of these stores will be forced to close their doors. Grocery stores are economic anchors and essential sources of health and well-being. California Grocers Association urges Congress to vote no on the proposed Farm Bill.”