Bakersfield College (BC) Renegade Nexus Pantry and Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) hosted a press conference with the California Association of Food Banks to discuss the need for continued funding of the CalFood Program.
According to Jared Call, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for the California Association of Foodbanks, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed allocating $8 million to the CalFood program in the upcoming budget, a 90 percent drop from the previous budget cycle of $80 million. Call explained that the funding cut would significantly impact food banks’ work.
“What we’re seeing right now is really a perfect storm of hunger and hardship coming to California,” said Call. “We’ve seen federal cuts over the past year to the federal commodities program that provides food to food banks, and we’ve also seen rising food costs, transportation costs that are putting pressure on household budgets. On top of that, we’re going to see a new series of federal cuts roll out over the next few months to the CalFresh program.”
The need for funding is growing despite cuts from legislation, including federal cuts under H.R. 1, the Big Beautiful Bill, which could cause 655,000 Californians to lose CalFresh Benefits. According to Call, food banks in California are serving 6.5 million people a month, up from 4.5 million during the height of the pandemic. In Kern County, Kelly Lowery, Executive Director of the CAPK Food Bank, stated that they serve around 50,000 families a month through partnerships with churches and organizations.
Cesar Jimenez, Vice President of Student Services at BC, spoke about the importance of access to food for students. He explained that, depending on the month, the BC pantries can serve between 7,000 and 10,000 students. He added that a study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research stated students who are food insecure have a higher dropout rate and lower GPA.
“Access to food should not be a privilege. It should be a right,” said Jimenez.
According to the study, 50 percent of California college students faced food insecurity, with 28 percent stating they skipped meals because they could not afford food. The survey also found that more than 70 percent of students at California Community Colleges, such as BC, reported being food insecure.
“So how can we ask our students to do well academically in the classroom when they’re hungry?” said Jimenez. “So we have to make sure that our students are fed, that they’re comfortable in order to really do well academically.”
Khalfani Mackey, BC Student and Student Government President, spoke about seeing the lines for the pantry getting longer and having to choose between staying in line for food or going to class.
“I chose class over food, but some of them stayed because they chose food over class, because they needed it, and what that pointed out was a widening gap that we’re facing,” said Mackey.
Moore stated that access to the BC pantry and their monthly food distribution are among the only ways he has access to nutritious food. Access to produce may also be limited if the funding cut occurs.
Hunter Moore, a student and Vice President of the Student Government Association at BC, urged legislators to fully fund the CalFood program and said he uses the pantry frequently, making it his main source for healthy food.
“I use it perhaps on a daily basis, because I don’t make a lot of money, and obviously with my background coming from a low-income working-class family, it’s hard sometimes to gain access to nutritious and healthy food. And the pantry offers that variety from fresh produce, as well as non-perishables,” said Moore.
Call stated that the California Association of Foodbanks has a Farm to Family program that partners with farmers to get fresh produce to food banks for distribution to the community. They purchase surplus produce from farmers who can’t get it into markets, which provides additional support to local agriculture.
“That’s part of why the CalFood program is so impactful: it is fresh, locally grown California produce that’s harvested in season,” said Call. “Unfortunately, healthy foods can be some of the most expensive for families to afford, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. Every survey that we’ve ever seen about what people need in order to afford the foods that they want and need for their families includes that they need more money for fresh fruits and vegetables. So that really underscores the importance of the CalFood program and being able to get those types of healthy foods to communities and to families.”
Call stated that the California Association of Food Banks supports 43 food banks across all 58 counties and is currently advocating in Sacramento to secure funding in the budget by the summer deadline. He explained that a way the community can support is by volunteering at local food banks and contacting state Senate and Assembly members, urging them to fund the program.