{"id":375101,"date":"2023-12-13T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=375101"},"modified":"2023-12-14T08:51:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T16:51:44","slug":"food-insecurity-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/california-divide\/2023\/12\/food-insecurity-california\/","title":{"rendered":"California’s food insecurity rises as pandemic aid ends"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The California food banks association warns of rising food insecurity, but its pleas for more state aid face a tough slog next year due to the projected budget deficit.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

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Food insecurity in California ticked upward over the past year, bringing the share of hardship back up to levels early in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by the California Association of Food Banks on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFamilies are buying less food,\u201d said May Lynn Tan, the association\u2019s director of research and strategic initiatives, who conducted a survey of food aid recipients this summer. \u201cThey’re running out of food, not being able to afford nutritious meals, and worrying more about food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates credited a pandemic-era federal aid program that gave food assistance recipients more money for groceries for pulling food insecurity below 20% of California households between 2021 and 2022. The additional aid, Tan said, helped recipients buy healthier food and become more financially stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As prices soared last year, food insecurity spiked. Then, the boost in federal aid ended in April. By October, more than 1 in 5 California families \u2014 more than 3.1 million households, including 1.1 million with children \u2014 were steadily reporting uncertain access to food, according to Census data analyzed<\/a> by the association. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While hunger overall is disproportionately borne by people of color, Black families in particular reported sharp increases this year. In April, 30% of Black households in California were food insecure. Six months later, the figure was 40% \u2014 and nearly half of Black families with children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-poverty advocates had feared a rise in hunger after the end of the aid boost this year, which affected the nearly 3 million California households that receive CalFresh, the federally-funded food stamps program. For three years the program had given all families receiving CalFresh the highest possible amount of food assistance for their family size each month, with $95 on top for those already receiving the maximum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the program reverted to ordinary aid levels, the decrease was anywhere from 32% to 40%, depending on the recipient, according to the food banks association. In a survey the association conducted over the summer, more than two-thirds of the state\u2019s food banks reported increases in the number of clients seeking meals and groceries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The uptick in food insecurity also follows an increase in poverty last year, triggered by the end of a different pandemic-era policy<\/a>. A one-time, yearlong expansion of a tax credit program in 2021 sent thousands of dollars to most families with children and pulled child poverty levels down to historic lows; after it ended, poverty spiked again<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both trends are likely to be the basis of advocates\u2019 calls next year for California to expand safety net spending, even as the state faces a projected $68 billion deficit<\/a> in the 2024-25 fiscal year. That\u2019s double the budget hole California plugged this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Food
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano volunteers and staff load groceries into cars in Vallejo on June 7, 2023. Photo by Shelby Knowles for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The food insecurity data was outlined by the food banks association Tuesday as it gears up to lobby for the expansion of assistance programs next year, including increasing funding for food banks to buy California produce to distribute to clients and supplementing the federally-funded CalFresh (food stamps) program with state dollars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does look like a tough budget year next year but I don\u2019t think that changes our strategy,\u201d said Becky Silva, the association\u2019s director of government relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019ll be a tough sell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom avoided major program cuts when they closed the deficit this year, but it did bring to a halt several years of social services expansions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, at a separate Tuesday web conference for anti-poverty advocates and lobbyists hosted by the liberal California Budget and Policy Center, Jessica Bartholow, chief of staff to state Senate Budget chairperson \ub0b8\uc2dc \uc2a4\ud0a4\ub108<\/a>, an Oakland Democrat, urged advocates to continue seeking funding or program expansions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Don\u2019t ask for less,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CalMatters politics reporter <\/em>\uc720 \uc2a4\ud154\ub77c \uc720<\/em><\/a> contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tmore on food insecurity in california<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
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A catastrophic hunger crisis? California food banks are being flooded by families seeking help<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\uc544\ubc14\ud0c0 \uc0ac\uc9c4<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Rya Jetha<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018No\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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\u2018No light at the other end\u2019: Impending loss of pandemic CalFresh boosts could trigger hunger spike<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\uc544\ubc14\ud0c0 \uc0ac\uc9c4<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Jeanne Kuang<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"How\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\uc544\ubc14\ud0c0 \uc0ac\uc9c4<\/a>\uc544\ubc14\ud0c0 \uc0ac\uc9c4<\/a>\uc544\ubc14\ud0c0 \uc0ac\uc9c4<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Rya Jetha<\/a><\/span>, Jeanne Kuang<\/a><\/span> and Jeremia Kimelman<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t