Alameda County Community Food Bank is committed to creating a healthy and prosperous community.

We believe solving hunger means meeting the immediate needs of our community while also working toward long-term solutions that ensure food and economic security for all—and putting an end to hunger for good.

Our annual policy agenda is set to seek meaningful legislation at all levels of government that address both immediate and long-term solutions to hunger, and is rooted in these basic principles:

• Hunger is a complex issue. And in a nation as prosperous as ours hunger doesn’t happen because there isn’t enough food, it happens because of poverty and poverty’s underlying causes.
• While people from all backgrounds experience hunger, we must also acknowledge that in Alameda County, 7 in 10 people in poverty are people of color.
• When we center the voices of people experiencing hunger we learn that it is inseparable from other pressing issues, like housing, healthcare, and childcare. And we know that systemic racism has created barriers to meeting all basic needs.
• Essential nutrition programs that Food Banks are commonly known for are just one piece of a puzzle that includes the need for housing, democracy and voting rights, tax policy, immigrant inclusion in safety net programs, and more.

This is why, for more than 20 years, we have made advocating for policies that eliminate the causes of hunger just as core to our mission as the food in our warehouse and the fuel in our delivery trucks. 

As we fight for these policies, one thing is certain: The movement is most powerful with you in it. Sign up for Advocacy Action Alerts or contact advocate@accfb.org for more information. We also invite you to reach out with your questions about our policy priorities. Please note that this living document will be updated throughout the year. 

Federal Commodity Purchasing: Redirect the government’s considerable purchasing power toward a more equitable food distribution system that supports BIPOC farmers, producers, and distributors while engaging input from community members with lived experience with systemic inequities.

End the prohibition on using SNAP benefits to purchase hot and prepared foods.

Parity in Food Assistance for U.S. Territories: Provide a pathway to help Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands transition from the block-granted Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) to full participation in SNAP.

Repeal the SNAP Drug Felony Ban.

Roll-back unjust federal time limits for SNAP that disproportionately impact people of color and immigrants experiencing poverty, and repeal work requirements for SNAP for able-bodied adults ages 18-49 with no dependent children.

Require SNAP benefit amounts to be calculated using the value of a low-cost food plan rather than the Thrifty Food Plan. Improve upon SNAP’s well-designed structure to allow for a more gradual tapering of benefits as program participants earn more income.

Sovereignty for Native Communities: Allow tribal governments the flexibility to administer federal programs as decided by the tribe; allow SNAP participants to also receive Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) benefits.

Streamline SNAP Eligibility and Enrollment: Improve and simplify SNAP access, particularly for older adults, college students, immigrants, and other people who face eligibility and enrollment barriers.

CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable Supplemental Benefits EBT Pilot: Expand the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT pilot program and extend funding for at least 12 additional months to boost benefits for a greater number of CalFresh households.

Extend and expand the CalFresh Safe Drinking Water Pilot to boost benefits for more CalFresh households who lack access to safe drinking water.

Protect unemployed and underemployed Californians from the unjust federal time limits for SNAP through state-funded California Anti-Hunger Response (CARE) benefits.

Protect funding for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) which supports California farmers, promotes purchase of fruits and vegetables, and will stretch CalFresh benefits for low-income families.

Expand college student access to CalFresh.

Provide a permanent state supplement to raise the CalFresh minimum benefit level from the current $23 to $50 per month.

Streamline Access to CalFresh: Reduce administrative and procedural access barriers to CalFresh to ensure that all eligible Californians can enroll with ease and dignity.

Allocate $6.35 billion to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and $30 million for the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program for WIC recipients.

End Deep Child Poverty for All: Lift CalWORKs grants above deep poverty (50% of the Federal Poverty Level) for all households, including CalWORKs households that have family members who are not eligible due to immigration status, receipt of SSI/SSP, or other reasons.

Food with Care: Bring equity to childcare nutrition programs by eliminating the supplemental State Meal Reimbursement rate gap for feeding younger children in family childcare settings.

Build on California’s historic success of School Meals for All by continuing to invest in healthy, adequate, locally-grown fresh school meals.

Increase Summer EBT benefits to $120 per month to prevent child hunger when schools are closed.

Maximize the availability of Summer Meal Sites to Feed Children and Families and allow caregivers who are also food insecure to access free meals.

Freedom to Vote Act: Protect and expand the right to vote, end partisan and racial gerrymandering, and limit the power of big money in elections.

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act: Restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and establish safeguards against voter suppression.

Reauthorize and streamline the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): Streamline reporting requirements to reduce the administrative burden for program participants and increase program efficiency.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Increase TEFAP mandatory funding by $250 million per year for food purchases. Authorize $200 million per year for TEFAP storage and distribution funds and $15 million per year for TEFAP infrastructure grants.

Bolster the TEFAP Farm to Food Bank Program: Increase funding, remove the state match, and allow states to prioritize projects for donated food or food purchased at a low cost from local growers and producers.

CalFood: Provide increased ongoing funding beginning in the 2025-26 State Budget to permanently sustain the CalFood program at $60 million annually.

Appropriate $3 million one-time and permanently authorize the State Disaster Food Assistance Program (SDFAP) in statute to ensure that California is prepared and able to respond quickly when disaster strikes and communities need immediate food resources.

Medically-supportive food as a covered benefit through Medi-Cal.

Sustain and Expand Access to Diapers and Menstrual Products: Support the current eight state-funded diaper banks in purchasing diapers and wipes. Create three additional diaper banks. Expand the highly successful Menstrual Products Pilot to all eleven diaper banks.

Food4All: Expand eligibility for California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) nutrition benefits to all Californians ineligible for CalFresh solely due to their immigration status, regardless of age.

Safety Net for All: Invest in immigrant workers who have been historically excluded from unemployment benefits.

Provide an ongoing Cost of Living increase for SSI/SSP recipients.

Reinstate and refund WIC 12550 to provide for Special Circumstances for SSI/SSP.

Restore all SSI/SSP grants to at least the Federal Poverty Level.

Billionaire Minimum Income Tax: Ensure that the 0.01% wealthiest households pay a tax rate of at least 25% on their full income.

Expand the Young Child Tax Credit to all California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) eligible households.

Raise the minimum CalEITC credit to $300.

Maintain $20 million in funding for tax credit outreach, ITIN Application Assistance, and Free Tax Preparation Assistance/Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.