Food Stamp Reauthorization 

The Food Stamp Program will be up for reauthorization by Congress in 2002. The reauthorization process poses a tremendous opportunity to improve the Food Stamp Program at the federal level. We hope that the following information will help you advocate on behalf of hunger Californians and families across the county.  To jump ahead to see what we are asking California's Congressional delegation to do, click here.

What is at stake for California? ("What's at Stake" pdf version)

California is home to millions who are eligible for Food Stamps

• California accounts for 10% of the national caseload (1.7 million people as of November 2000)

• 1/6 of all Californians have income below the 130% of Poverty Level cut-off for food stamps

California historically had one of the nation’s worst participation rates

• USDA and CFPA studies both indicate that only half of all eligible people participate

• More than 2 million eligible Californians do not receive food stamps

California has high levels of hunger and food insecurity

• California ranks 11th worst in the country for hunger and food insecurity

• There are 4.4 million food insecure people in California, 1.3 million of whom experience hunger

Californians face high housing costs, limiting resources available to buy adequate food

•  More than half of low-income Californians spend over 70% of their income on housing

• High housing costs burden many working families yet the shelter deduction cap is set unrealistically low at $325/month

California takes advantage of few state options that would increase program access Strong Federal Requirements needed

• California does not participate in the state-federal food stamp outreach match

• California still requires monthly reporting for all households – only 4 other states do

•  California currently has not requested any waivers for labor surplus areas, although areas in 45 of 58 counties qualify – 36 states, including Texas and New York use these waivers to feed hungry adults

• California has used only 3.3% of its Able-Bodied Adult exemptions to feed hungry unemployed adults without children, many of whom face significant barriers to employment

California is penalized under current Program Evaluation Methods

• California accrued over $10 million in penalties in FFY 1998 and 1999

• These penalties were adjusted to $0, but California may continue to face millions of dollars in penalties because USDA imposes financial penalties on half the states each year, based solely on payment accuracy.  Immigrants and working families are more error-prone due to complicated calculations and California serves many more of these cases than other states.  This ignores important well-being indicators like participation rates and food security.

What are asking California’s Congressional delegation to do?

• Make food stamps work for working families

• Ensure that food stamp benefits are adequate

• Redesign Food Stamp Program evaluation and quality control systems

• Patch the holes in the food stamp-nutrition safety net

Click here to view the entire request in one document.

What can I do now? 

Contact Senators Feinstein and let them know that California is counting on them to support amendments to the Senate Bill that would increase investment in the Food Stamp Program, namely the broadest restoration of federal benefits to legal immigrants possible and an exclusion of one vehicle when determining eligibility so folks can own a reliable car to get to work and still get food stamps.