Dear Legislator,
On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Californians who experience homelessness and food insecurity in our state, I’m writing to ask you to support AB 942 (Weber), the Access to Safe Food Choices and Food Security Act of 2019. AB 942 will address food insecurity in California’s most vulnerable populations by expanding access to hot and prepared food choices for people who are homeless, disabled and elderly through a statewide expansion of the CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program.
CalFresh, the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or “SNAP,” is a federally-funded safety net program that helps more than 4.5 million low-income Californians meet their food needs. Regrettably, California has the lowest participation rates in the country, with only 7 out of 10 eligible households participating in the program. Yet, California also experiences some of the highest numbers of people and families who are living in poverty and people who are homeless, disabled and elderly have particular vulnerability to food insecurity, hunger and lack of readily available hot or prepared meals. These three vulnerable populations also have the lowest rates of participation in the CalFresh Program, despite their urgent need.
AB 942 is a commonsense solution to increasing food access, food security, and food choices for homeless, disabled and elderly recipients of CalFresh, through a statewide expansion of the Restaurant Meals Program.
We know that increasing food security and reducing homelessness is a priority for our state, and we ask that you support AB 942 (Weber) to help thousands of Californians get the food they deserve. Right now, a hot meal is a privilege - and it doesn’t need to be.
Thank you,