End Child Poverty California (ECPCA) reported that the final 2026-27 California state budget, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, includes significant new revenue measures to protect low-income families. The organization, however, warned the spending plan still leaves major gaps in health care and food assistance for Californians affected by federal cuts.
A ProPublica analysis indicates a reduction of at least 776,000 children receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This decline contradicts prior assertions by Republican proponents of President Trump’s signature domestic policy legislation, who maintained that program revisions would not adversely affect vulnerable populations.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alongside a coalition of 23 state attorneys general, urged congressional leaders to restore Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and eligibility protections within the forthcoming Farm Bill. The collective asserted that recent federal reductions are exacerbating food insecurity and imposing significant fiscal burdens upon state and local governments.
Food access advocates have formally urged California state leaders to preserve funding for the California Market Match program. This initiative, which has facilitated fresh food acquisition for low-income families and provided support to small farmers for the past decade, faces potential termination. The call for preservation follows the release of initial budget proposals from both the California Senate and Assembly, neither of which include provisions for the program’s renewal or expansion.
California is taking steps to expand its food assistance infrastructure in response to federal restrictions that threaten to disqualify thousands of immigrants from receiving CalFresh benefits, with legislation aimed at restoring the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
Assembly Bill 2214 aims to address food insecurity across California by strengthening agriculture, infrastructure and access to food resources, while Assembly Bill 2213 seeks to combat federal budget cuts and provide direct funding to farmers and residents.
California Senate Majority Leader Angelique Ashby has introduced the CalFresh for Students Act, which aims to streamline access to CalFresh benefits for college students, in order to improve student retention, degree completion, and overall campus well-being.
Veterinarians are advocating for less cruel methods of depopulation of poultry flocks due to avian influenza, as the USDA’s “stamping out” policy allows for the use of Ventilation Shutdown Plus (VSD+), which is considered inhumane by many.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against the USDA, challenging the Trump administration’s guidance for implementing SNAP eligibility restrictions, arguing that it unlawfully excludes certain lawfully residing noncitizens from receiving food assistance benefits.
The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Program has been relaunched with a $36 million investment from Assemblymember Alex Lee, providing financial incentives for CalFresh recipients to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating retailers.
The federal shutdown has ended, but critics warn that the decision to withhold SNAP benefits for millions of people set a dangerous precedent for using food access as political leverage, and that access to food directly impacts public safety.
Dr. Regina Davis Moss, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, warned that potential funding lapses in SNAP and WIC could have devastating consequences for millions of families, particularly Black women and children, and called for a comprehensive commitment to reproductive justice and health equity.
Over 48,000 Americans have signed a petition demanding that the USDA release a $5 billion contingency reserve to maintain SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, which advocates say is being used to leverage hunger for budgetary concessions.
Governor Gavin Newsom praised the rulings of two federal judges who found that the Trump administration illegally withheld SNAP funds during the government shutdown, and urged the USDA to release all available funding for the program immediately.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully suspending SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown, which could leave 5.5 million Californians without essential food assistance.
Governor Gavin Newsom has deployed California Volunteers and the California National Guard to assist food banks across the state to provide emergency food aid to millions of Californians affected by the federal government shutdown.
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