Overview
On May 14, Governor Newsom released the details of the May Revision to his 2024-25 State Budget proposal, which proposed to cut or delay key investments needed to address the level of hunger, poverty, and inequity faced by Californians with low and moderate income. While we recognize state revenues are predicted to fall short this year, it is in such times of economic downturn that the state must invest in programs and services that foster equity and make California a state for ALL.
Families are struggling to put food on the table, older adults need support to age with dignity, and kids and college students deserve to learn, grow and thrive to reach their full potential. State leaders should make bold investments in essential services and the long-term safety net. We look forward to working with the Legislature and the Newsom Administration over the next weeks to prevent cuts to much-needed investments in food and nutrition programs that will mitigate the alarming, persistent rates of hunger and hardship across our state.
Below are a number of highlights from the Governor’s budget proposal with respect to Food and Nutrition.
Food and Nutrition
Food4All/CFAP Expansion – Proposed Delay to 2027-28
Last year’s state budget included a planned implementation date for the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) expansion to Californians aged 55 and older, regardless of immigration status, of October 2025. The Governor’s May Revision proposes to delay implementation until 2027 — a two year delay from what was anticipated. The Governor’s budget proposal also does not include new investments to remove exclusions to CFAP for undocumented Californians ages 54 and under. This delay and lack of new investments stalls California’s progress toward an inclusive and equitable food safety net, and fails to address urgent food insecurity among immigrant communities across the state.
Nourish California, the California Immigrant Policy Center, and the Food4All Coalition will continue to work with our legislative champions, the Legislature, and the Governor’s office to get the implementation timeline back on track to ensure access to CFAP benefits for Californians of all ages, regardless of immigration status, begins as soon as possible.
Take Action: Join the Food4All Campaign to expand CFAP to income-eligible Californians of all ages, regardless of immigration status. No exception, No exclusions, No delays.
Emergency Food
Nourish California and our partners call on the Governor and Legislature to provide adequate ongoing funding to address the ongoing elevated need across the state. For more information, see the California Association of Food Banks’ budget statement.
School Meals and SUN Bucks
The Governor’s proposed budget continues to invest in students’ access to breakfast and lunch — free of charge — each school day. We applaud the administration for this commitment to the health, well being, and learning of all kids in California public schools. We’ll continue to monitor investments in school nutrition as the state budget process continues. We urge the Governor and the Legislature to guarantee that funding for meal reimbursem*nts remains secure, sustainable, and sufficient. We also call on state budget leaders to ensure schools have the necessary resources and capacity to reach all students with nutritious, appealing, culturally appropriate meals.
The proposed budget also includes full funding for administrative costs to operate Summer EBT, or SUN Bucks, in 2024 and 2025. We applaud the commitment to children’s well-being reflected in this investment, ensuring the successful implementation of the SUN Bucks program in 2024 and providing essential food resources to 5.3 million eligible children during the summer months. We will continue to monitor the state budget to ensure timely implementation of SUN Bucks for 2024.
Take Action: Join the Campaign to Ensure Healthy Meals for Every Kid Every Day
CalFresh
The Governor’s January budget proposal maintained $915,000 for automation and $15M to fund the CalFresh Minimum Nutrition Benefit Pilot, which will ensure participating households receive no less than $50 per month in CalFresh benefits. The May Revision cuts this program completely.
The latest revision does not include funding to continue to operate the Safe Drinking Water Pilot nor CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Pilot. Without additional funding, these successful pilot projects will expire prematurely. That means participants will see a cut of $50 – $60 per month in the already inadequate CalFresh benefit allotments. Join us in calling on the Legislature and Governor to provide the necessary bridge funding to ensure no pilot participants see a cut to their vital food assistance.
The Governor also maintains his proposal to cut $33.2 million from the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP). The funding supports “Market Match” and other successful programs that provide matching funds to CalFresh shoppers at local farmers’ markets. We urge the Governor to reverse this proposed cut and fully fund CNIP as provided in the 2023-24 budget.
There are no other proposed investments in CalFresh despite the rising rates of hunger and inadequate CalFresh benefit allotments. Join us in calling on the state to make CalFresh easier to enroll in and ensure benefit amounts are enough to last through the month.
Take Action: Join the Campaign to Boost CalFresh Benefits by extending successful supplemental benefit programs.
Early Care Nutrition
The Budget funding for the state meal reimbursem*nt in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). We are pleased that, given the difficult budget picture, the state reimbursem*nt for CACFP is not proposed to be discontinued following its long-overdue restoration in 2020. The proposed budget fails, however, to bring equity to child care nutrition programs by eliminating the state meal reimbursem*nt rate gap that unjustly discriminates against providers feeding younger children in family child care settings.
Take Action: Join the Food with Care 2024 Campaign to ensure healthy meals for our youngest learners and full reimbursem*nt for child care providers.
Immigrant Supports
Happily, the May Revision maintains funding levels to expand full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility to all income-eligible adults. We are very pleased that the Governor kept his commitment to expanding health care access to all immigrants. For more information, see the California Immigrant Policy Center’s May Revision statement.
Safety Net and Income Support
For expert analysis of the Governor’s latest budget proposal with respect to the broader social safety net, see the statement from our friends at the California Budget & Policy Center.
What’s Next?
The Legislature has already scheduled budget hearings to discuss the Governor’s May Revision Proposals and to begin negotiating the final Budget Act of 2024. Negotiations between the Legislature and the Administration are immediately ramping up. The Legislature has until June 15 to pass a budget bill. The Governor then has twelve days to sign and enact the final budget. The Governor may also use his line-item veto power — or “blue pencil” — to veto specific provisions of the Budget Act.
How Can You Help?
The state budget reflects our collective values and priorities. Your advocacy can shape the state budget. Join our campaign actions and stay up to date by visiting our action center: act.nourishca.org.
Thank you for your support and advocacy!
For more information, contact Jared Call at jared@nourishca.org.
