Help Advance Food Equity & Fight Hunger
Take Action: Your Support is Needed!

SB 499 (McGuire): California-Grown for Healthy Kids

SB 285 (Wiener): CalFresh Connect 

AB 842 (Limón): Hunger-Free Pre-K & Child Care

AB 1508 (Bonta): Breakfast After the Bell


SB 499 (McGuire):  California Grown for Healthy Kids


 
SB 499 (McGuire): The California-Grown for Healthy Kids Act expands the availability of universally free school meals by increasing school districts' capacity to provide healthy meals free of charge to all students through equitable  state funding for California fruit and vegetables.

We are grateful for Senator McGuire's continued leadership to advance universally free, nutritious school meals in California schools, and are counting on you to show strong support:

1) Call, Email, Tweet Your Support for SB 499!  Click here for sample call scripts, emails, and tweets. Prioritize your outreach to Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale), Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Senator Richard Roth, Chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education. This should take just a few minutes.
2) Sign on to  this coalition budget request TODAY. Send your organization's logo to  elyse@cfpa.net or upload it  here (google log-in required).

3) Learn more and stay up to date on calls to action at cfpa.net/sb499 and  by signing up for CFPA's Action Alerts .

Questions?  Contact Elyse Homel Vitale elyse@cfpa.net
SB 285 (Wiener):  CalFresh Connect


SB 285 (Wiener): Establishes clear goals to improve CalFresh access, starting with seniors and disabled SSI recipients who will be  eligible  for assistance for the first time in decades. Ensures that all low-income Californians have efficient access to CalFresh by phone, online, and in person through dignified means, within an integrated safety net that mitigates poverty and supports health. Sponsored by CFPA, SF-Marin Food Bank, AARP and the California Association of Food Banks. 

The Pasadena News recently featured an Op-Ed by CFPA's Executive Director highlighting the low rate of CalFresh participation among seniors--19%, worst in the nation. SB 285 lays out a workable plan to solve our persistent CalFresh participation problem by setting achievable goals, cutting red tape, and simplifying the burdensome application process--especially for seniors and people with disabilities. 

Read the full Op-Ed.  PDF

We applaud Senator Wiener's commitment to statewide excellence with CalFresh and his leadership towards a human-centered safety net that truly works for the working poor and seniors struggling with poverty. We are counting on you to show strong support!

1) Call, Email, Tweet Your Support for SB 285!  Click here for sample call scripts, emails, and tweets .  Prioritize your outreach to Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale), Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. This should take just a few minutes.

Ph. (916) 651-4025
Twitter: @Portantino

2) Sign on to the coalition budget request for a simplified senior CalFresh application: 
    Send organization logo to jared@cfpa.net.

3) Learn more and stay up to date on calls to action at cfpa.net/sb285 and by signing up for CFPA's Action Alerts.

Questions?  Contact Jared Call  jared@cfpa.net
AB 842 (Limón):  Hunger-Free Pre-K & Child Care


AB 842 (Limón): passed out of the Assembly Committee on Education last week with a unanimous vote of support. AB 842 would increase access to healthy meals for low-income children in preschool and child care. A big thank you to Assemblymember Limón for championing this bill and to all of you for demonstrating wide support for this important piece of legislation! 


1) Call, Email, Tweet Your Support for AB 842 and the related budget request!  

Activate your network to call and email members of the California Senate Budget Subcommittee 1 on Education on May 10th. The below three members of the subcommittee will decide whether or not to fund child care meals in the senate's proposed state budget:  Click here for sample call scripts, emails, and tweets . 
2) Sign on  to  this coalition budget request   TODAY . Send your organization's logo to  elyse@cfpa.net  or upload it  here  (google log-in required).

3) Learn more about how you can help increase access to meals for low-income children in preschool and child care.  Visit the AB 842 webpage:  www.cfpa.net/ab842 and also sign  up for CFPA's Action Alerts .

Questions?  Contact Melissa Cannon melissa@cfpa.net
AB 1508 (Bonta):  Breakfast After the Bell


 AB 1508 (Bonta): will improve student attendance, academic achievement, and health by ensuring that more children in California, particularly those served by high-poverty schools, have access to school breakfast. 

AB 1508 needs your support as it moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

1) Call, Email, Tweet your support for AB 1508!  Prioritize your outreach to Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), Chair of the Committee on Appropriations. This should take just a few minutes. Here is a sample script you can use:

Hi, my name/organization is _______. I live/work in _______.  I'm calling to urge Assemblymember Gonzalez to support AB 1508 (Bonta), the Breakfast After the Bell bill. When students are hungry, they can't focus and they struggle to learn. Targeted state investments that expand the availability of Breakfast After the Bell to ensure that all California students can access the nutritious breakfast they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez  (D-80), Chair Assembly Appropriations Committee
Ph: 916.319.2080
Twitter: 

You can also tweet your support! Sample tweets are available here. 

2) Learn more about how you can help increase access to nutritious school breakfasts for low-income students.   Visit the AB 1508 webpage:  www.cfpa.net/ab1508 and read our one-page fact sheet on the benefits of serving school breakfast after the first bell.

3) Stay informed on calls to action by signing up for CFPA's Action Alerts.

Questions?  Contact Tracey Patterson tracey@cfpa.net