Food for Thought: Tackling Food Insecurity in California

Join us for a panel discussion focused on addressing food insecurity in California, with an emphasis on CalFresh reform. CalFresh is the state-run food stamps program that assists low- or no-income individuals and households to purchase nutritious food, also known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Inefficiencies in the CalFresh system have become evident in the billions of dollars in unused federal benefits, as well as in comparison to other states that have achieved 100 percent SNAP participation among eligible individuals through strategic policy changes. 

A new state law, AB 518 (Wicks and Jackson), mandates the development of a methodology to estimate CalFresh participation rates, identify eligible but unenrolled Californians, and create outreach strategies to maximize participation; but the bill is only a starting point to addressing the program’s shortcomings. 

Join us for a wider discussion on the impacts of food insecurity as momentum builds for legislative action to enhance the program’s efficiency. We’ll also examine the successful models of other states’ systems and bring awareness to food insecurity’s long-term negative impacts, particularly for marginalized communities. 

This program is co-hosted with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and followed by a reception.