Policy & Advocacy
The San Diego Hunger Coalition stands with the nearly one million San Diegans experiencing nutrition insecurity and the more than 500 nonprofit organizations, schools/universities, and elected officials working to connect people to food.
A new federal ‘public charge’ rule took effect on September 18, expanding the public benefits — including food assistance programs like CalFresh — that can be weighed against immigrants applying for green cards or legal status.
"Access to three nutritious meals a day is a basic right — not a bargaining chip," said SDHC CEO & President Alondra Alvarado. “This rule has the potential to push eligible families away from food assistance out of fear, not need.”
California and 20 other states have already filed a lawsuit to block the changes. We will continue monitoring this policy and its effects on our local community as it develops.
Review the BASIC NEEDS COALITION Voter guide - Your guide to California's November 2026 ballot measures.
The Basic Needs Coalition is a San Diego-based alliance of nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, civic leaders, advocates, and dozens of cross-sector partners united around a shared belief: that affordable housing, healthcare, food security, childcare, and homelessness prevention are inseparable — and that no San Diegan can truly thrive when any one of these needs goes unmet.
2026 will be a defining year for food access in San Diego County.
Federal instability, rising county administrative costs, and record demand from emergency food providers make coordinated state and county action more urgent than ever.
For a deeper dive into the priorities we covered during our annual Legislative Forum, read the 2026 Legislative Landscape & Priorities Report, which outlines actionable opportunities to protect and strengthen food access systems across our region.
2026 Legislative Priorities
As we strengthen and align our policy and advocacy efforts with state and national partners, we support CAFB and the Alliance to End Hunger's legislative priorities this year.
Visit their sites for more information, updates, and collective calls to action.
CAFB Hunger Legislation Tracker Alliance to End Hunger Key Bill Tracker
CalFresh: California State Bills & Budget Items
AB 79 (Arambula)—Public social services: higher education
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This bill requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to develop a training for basic needs directors and coordinators from campuses of the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC), and requires CDSS to convene a working group to identify and address barriers to student enrollment in social services offered by county human service agencies.
AB 777 (C.Rodriguez) — Food assistance: disasters: utilities
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Requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to maximize the amount of assistance through the federal Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) during disasters and provides for information-sharing requirements between CDSS and utilities to seek automated mass replacement of federally funded nutrition assistance programs. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires each utility to timely respond to data requests by CDSS.
2) Requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish any memorandums of understanding (MOUs) or other data sharing agreements necessary, to direct utilities to provide data to CDSS to maximize the food assistance available pursuant to 6) below.
3) Requires each utility to have a dedicated point of contact for CDSS and establish any MOUs or other data-sharing agreements necessary to provide the requested data.
4) Requires the CPUC to provide technical assistance to CDSS, including, but not limited to, technical assistance to support the report described in 8) below.
5) Defines, for purposes of these provisions, “utility” to mean an electrical corporation, a gas corporation, a water corporation, or a local publicly owned electric utility, as defined in 11) below, serving California customers.
6) Requires CDSS to maximize the amount of assistance requested and received through the D-SNAP and all other federally funded nutrition assistance programs, including utilizing necessary data, provided in accordance with 1) through 5) above, in order for CDSS to timely seek automated mass replacement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, D-SNAP, the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program, known in California as SUN Bucks, and any other federally funded nutrition assistance programs.
7) Requires CDSS to maintain at least one dedicated point of contact with each utility to act as liaison with the utilities in accordance with 1) through 5) above.
8) Requires CDSS, on or before December 31, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature that includes: any further ways to ensure that California maximizes all available federal food assistance during state and federally declared disasters, public health emergencies, or other crises that enable the provision of resources to California households; and, any additional oversight or actions needed to fulfill the objectives of these provisions and those in existing law related to county disaster plans.
AB 936 (Lee) — CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Program
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Specifically, this bill:
1) Renames the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project as the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Program, and deletes the January 1, 2027, sunset date.
2) Requires CDSS to provide grants to support the supplemental benefits mechanism in existing retail settings.
3) Strikes the requirement that a minimum of three grants be awarded to nonprofit organizations or government agencies and, instead, allows any number of grants to be awarded.
4) Strikes the requirement that at least one of the grants provide the ability to test the supplemental benefit mechanism at farmers’ markets, and strikes related provisions.
5) Strikes provisions related to data collection for purposes of evaluating the pilot project.
6) Requires CDSS, when grantees propose adding additional retail locations into the program, to prioritize those retail locations that offer a broad variety, and high quality, of fresh fruits and vegetables, serve geographically and culturally diverse areas and high-CalFresh-use areas, among other criteria, as specified.
7) Specifies a funding allocation framework for authorized retailers and requires CDSS, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to allocate funds according to that framework, including funds sufficient to cover CDSS’ and grantee administrative costs and “baseline funding” sufficient to cover the cost of anticipated benefits for 12 months, as specified. The remaining funds must be allocated between small and large retailers, ensuring small retailers can access the program.
8) Allows CDSS, notwithstanding item 7, above, to relocate funds if CDSS determines there is a lack of acceptable applications for a particular category of authorized retailers, as specified.
9) Requires CDSS to quarterly publish, on its internet website, data on program utilization, as specified.
AB 1049 (C.Rodriguez)—California Food Assistance Program
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This bill specifies that federal sponsor-deeming rules and exemptions governing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California, do not apply to the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
Specifically, this bill:
1) Deletes existing law requiring federal sponsor-deeming rules and exemptions governing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as CalFresh in California, to also govern the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
2) Instead, explicitly specifies that federal sponsor-deeming rules and exemptions governing SNAP do not apply to CFAP.
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If federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (known as CalFresh in California) fall below a specified threshold, this bill requires the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to use state funds to ensure CalFresh benefits remain at least at the level in effect on January 1, 2025. This bill also requires CDSS to conduct a feasibility study on increasing eligibility and benefits of the CalFresh program.
Specifically, this bill:
1) If the federal government reduces benefits under SNAP that would result in CalFresh benefits falling below the level of CalFresh benefits in effect on January 20, 2025, under the federal Thrifty Food Plan, requires CDSS to ensure the level of CalFresh benefits remains at least at the level in effect on January 20, 2025.
2) If federal funding is insufficient when combined with the nonfederal share to maintain the level of CalFresh benefits as described in item 1, above, requires CDSS to implement these provisions using state funds, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature.
3) Defines “Thrifty Food Plan” as the lowest cost among the food plans designed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to determine SNAP benefit amounts.
4) Requires CDSS to conduct a feasibility study on increasing the eligibility and benefits of the CalFresh program and to prepare and submit a one-time report on the findings to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee by January 1, 2027.
SDHC 2025 Legislative Priorities
Child Nutrition: California State Bills & Budget Items
SB 225 (McNerney) — School nutrition: guardian meal reimbursement
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This bill requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to establish a reimbursement process for federal summer meal program operators for meals served to guardians of eligible pupils who participate in a summer meal program.
SB 411 (Pérez)—Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025
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This bill, subject to an appropriation, would create two school nutrition programs—one administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) for local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide meals to students during school breaks or closures lasting longer than five school days, and the other administered by the Department of Social Services (DSS) which would provide Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to students during school breaks or closures that last longer than five schooldays. This bill also requires CDE to develop a statewide application that is made available through a single statewide website that enables families to submit federally required information for meal eligibility, as specified.
SB 764 (Weber Pierson)—Chain restaurants: children’s meals
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Require a chain restaurant, as defined, that sells a children’s meal, to offer at least one children’s meal that meets specified nutrition standards.
Prohibit the children’s meal required to be offered from containing more than any of the following:
550 calories, 700 milligrams of sodium, 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, 15 grams of added sugar and Zero grams of trans fat
Require the children’s meal required to be offered to include at least two of the following servings:
A serving of one-half cup or more of fruit
A serving of one-half cup or more of vegetables
A serving of one-half cup or more nonfat or low-fat dairy
A serving of eight of more grams of whole grains that meets at least one of the following:
The serving contains 50 percent or more of whole grain ingredients
The first ingredient in the serving’s ingredient list, in descending order of predominance, is whole grains
A serving of meat or a meat alternative equal to at least one of the following:
One ounce of meat, poultry, or seafood
One egg
One-fourth of a cup of soy products or pulses, including beans, peas, or lentils
Two tablespoons of nut butter
One ounce of nuts and seeds
Require a chain restaurant that sells a children’s meal to train employees on how to comply with the requirements of this bill on or before July 1, 2026, and to offer ongoing training to all new employees.
Require a local enforcement agency to provide written notice of the bill’s requirements, on or before April 1, 2026, to chain restaurants that sell a children’s meal.
AB 802 (Sharp-Collins)—Juvenile justice commission: hunger survey
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This bill requires each county juvenile justice commission to conduct, at least once every 24 months, a survey about hunger among youth in county detention facilities and make related county policy recommendations.
Specifically, among other provisions, the bill:
1) Requires a juvenile justice commission to administer the survey or work with a local community-based organization to administer the survey.
2) Requires the survey to seek to determine whether confined youth are chronically or often hungry, whether confined youth have regular access to food between meals, whether confined youth have adequate time for meals, and the quality of the food confined youth are provided.
3) If a survey indicates youth are often or chronically hungry, requires a juvenile justice commission to make recommendations for changes to county policies to address the hunger.
4) Requires each county to publish the results of each survey, any related recommendations made by a juvenile justice commission, and a description of the remedial or corrective actions taken in response to commission recommendations.