CalFresh benefits are set to plummet for almost five million people in the state starting in a few weeks - as the emergency COVID increase expires.

Individuals will lose an average of $82 a month, families will get about $200 less. Trinidad Luna of Los Angeles, who has had both his legs amputated at the knee due to diabetes, said he's gone from $215 a month down to $25.

"I don't know who came up with this price," said Luna. "I mean, did they live it? Did they say OK, I'll volunteer to live this way for about a month or two and see if it can be done? I doubt that. It's hard to get around and go to the food bank with my wheelchair falling apart, but I keep on pushing. I'm not going to give up."

Advocates advise people to take full advantage of other anti-hunger programs, such as free school breakfast and lunch - and Market Match, which doubles CalFresh dollars at participating farmers' markets.

Mary is a CalFresh recipient from Orange County who was hospitalized during COVID, has a severe eye condition, and has battled pre-diabetes. She said she will see her benefits drop from $281 a month down to $23, and worries that the drop in benefits could impact her sugar levels and overall health.

"The doctor said, 'Well, you're going to have to change your eating habits' and all these different foods that I was not used to - they are more quality, but they are also more expensive," she said. "So it did help a lot the food stamps on having better food choices to get the pre-diabetes out of my body."

Frank Tamborello - executive director of Hunger Action LA - said while people can't come close to replacing what's being cut, there are some things they can do to help.

"First of all, when people's CalFresh benefits do get adjusted downward, they can go to the county office and re-enter their monthly living expenses," said Tamborello. "And this could result in a higher benefit. Second, there are a lot of families that could qualify for the WIC program. And you're able to get the WIC and CalFresh programs at the same time."

Ana-Alicia Carr - community advocacy director in LA for the American Heart Association - noted that a recent report from the University of Southern California found that 25% of households in LA didn't have enough food on the table, and this number is even higher among Black and Latino
residents, women, young adults, and low-income households.

"Of the households who are experiencing food insecurity, four out of 10 of those report having children in the home," said Carr. "So we are seeing food insecurity at levels that are worse than even 10 years before the pandemic."

The heart association supports state Senate Bill 605, which would expand the supplemental California Fruit and Vegetable program.

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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