Food is Health:

Denying access to CalFresh will result in increased hunger, hospitalizations, uncontrolled chronic illnesses, diabetes rates, mental health issues - including anxiety, depression,and rates of suicide and ideation– as well as higher costs to public hospitals, emergency rooms, and Medi-Cal.

Food is Housing:

Denying access to CalFresh will result in increased homelessness and housing instability. When individuals and families lose access to food assistance, household budgets adjust by paying for food with rent money leading to increased evictions, shelter entries, and street homelessness.

Food is Prosperity:

Local economies in California benefit from $12 billion in CalFresh generated revenue annually,generating as much as $1.80 for every CalFresh dollar spent.

Food is Family Wellbeing:

Denying access to concrete supports like CalFresh food assistance will increase poverty-related stressors on families, increase child abuse, foster care entries and overall involvement in the Child Welfare System.

2.8 million Medi-Cal enrollees…

will be unable to verify compliance or receive an exemption using automated sources, requiring manual verification and intensive county eligibility workforce engagement to verify compliance or be determined exempt.

County Eligibility workers…

are used to stepping up under pressure. The county eligibility workforce helped enroll millions of low-income adults who became newly eligible for Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) beginning in 2014, contributing to near universal health care coverage in 2022 and 2023 when the statewide uninsured rate dropped to a historic low of 6.2%.