Central Coast leaders, including Rep. Salud Carbajal and Molly Kern, CEO of the SLO Food Bank, are warning that a new bill proposing $300 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would have devastating effects on local families, food banks, and economies.
Kern emphasized that SNAP is the “best, most proven tool” to fight hunger, benefiting over 31,000 people in SLO County and generating $75 million annually for local grocery stores and farmers markets. She warned that slashing SNAP would not only increase hunger but also shift an impossible burden onto local food banks, which cannot fill the gap if benefits are cut.
The proposed bill would force states like California to cover a greater share of SNAP costs—over 11%, or nearly $3 billion annually—while also requiring counties to pay more in administrative costs. It would freeze benefit increases, expand harsh work requirements to older adults and parents with young children, and reduce support for shelter and utilities.
Kern stressed that hunger is not a partisan issue and that supporting SNAP is essential for the health of families, communities, and local economies. “The health of our families, communities, and local economies depends on investing in nourishment and strengthening SNAP, not dismantling it,” she said.
