Today the Senate Agriculture Committee marked-up it's   2012 Farm Bill proposal and last week the House Agriculture Committee endorsed the Reconciliation Act of 2012. Both actions propose massive cuts to SNAP (in addition to previous House proposals to cut and block grant SNAP funding). Although the House and Senate proposals differ, both include provisions that would hurt low-income Californians eligible for CalFresh, for example, the elimination or restriction of the "Heat and Eat" option, elimination of "Categorical Eligibility," and prematurely ending the boost in CalFresh benefit allotments implemented under the stimulus package (ARRA).

CFPA urges California's Congressional leaders to vote against the draft proposals if these harmful provisions remain. While these proposals are still in draft form, the Senate Agriculture Committee is meeting as this alert goes out (4/26). We encourage supporters and partners to weigh-in as soon as possible on this important issue.

CFPA Letter to California’s House Delegation. PDF
CFPA Letter to Senator's Feinstein and Boxer. PDF

For more information on the draft proposals:
Senate Agriculture Committee proposal. link
FRAC analysis of Senate proposal. PDF
House Agriculture Reconciliation Act of 2012 proposal. PDF
CBPP's analysis of proposal. link
Share Our Strength’s Statement. link

Read CFPA's sign-on letter in support of "Heat and Eat": link

AB 1560 (Fuentes) & AB 1781 (Brownley)
The authors of AB 1560 Food for Health and AB 1781 Lining Up to Remove Stigma both waived presentation in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, April 25. Due to estimated costs, the bills were moved to the suspense file. CFPA is working with both authors and committee staff to ensure that all possible steps are taken to move these bills to the Assembly floor.

Learn more about AB 1560. link
Questtions? Contact Kerry at 510.433.1122 x110

Learn more about 1781. link
Questions? Contact Markell at 510.433.1122 x107

AB 1872 (Alejo)
AB 1872 Improving Child Care Nutrition will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, May 9. More information coming soon!

Learn more about AB 1872. link
Questions? Contact Ellen at 510.301.0824 or
Elyse a at 619.501.8248

The California Hunger Action Coalition (CHAC) is now accepting votes for the 2012 Hunger Fighter Awards! Voting is open until 5pm on Friday, May 4. The winners will be announced at Hunger Action Day 2012 on Thursday, May 17 in Sacramento, CA. Visit CHAC's website to learn more about nominees and vote for someone today! link

Healthy Beverages in Chid Care Website Goes Live!

Take a look at CFPA's website dedicated to Healthy Beverages in Child Care, effective implementation of AB 2084 (Brownley), and related provisions in the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act.

Visit Healthy Beverages in Child Care. link