By admin 
Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta joined a coalition of activists on Monday at the state Capitol to call on legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom to take immediate action to prevent a “hunger crisis” for tens of thousands of Californians.
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HR 1 — also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year — cuts money that helps pay for California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, CalFresh. The activist coalition urged the state to take budget actions during the August session to fill that void.
“Now is the time for our Legislature to step up,” Huerta said. “There is no excuse why these programs should not be fully funded.”
The group had three specific demands: expand the California Food Assistance Program to lawfully present immigrants, fund a one-time family food supplement to stabilize nutrition for families and enact budget language to maximize food support for people served by foster care, homelessness and in-home services with known medical conditions.
The press conference was hosted by the SEIU California State Council, Western Center on Law & Poverty and Dolores Huerta Foundation, among other organizations.
Under HR 1, some CalFresh recipients may get less money for food and more recipients will need to participate in work or community engagement activities to keep their benefits, according to the California Department of Social Services. In addition, many lawfully present immigrants will no longer qualify for CalFresh.
The department estimates about 34,000 humanitarian immigrants — noncitizens with permission to enter or remain in the U.S. based on urgent protection needs — will lose eligibility for CalFresh benefits under HR 1.
During Monday’s press conference, Huerta emphasized the impact of the bill on farmworkers and their families. This group depends on food assistance programs, she said.
Under the HR 1, CalFresh recipients between the ages of 18 and 64 must work, volunteer or train for 80 hours a month to keep their benefits. Farmworkers perform “very arduous” work, Huerta noted, which can cause disabilities. These individuals may be unable to fulfill the new requirements for CalFresh, she said.
“The very people that feed us are the ones who are going to be hurt by the program cuts that the Trump administration has bestowed upon us by the Big Beautiful Bill,” she said. “Can you imagine that?”
Huerta called on California legislators to use state budget reserves to protect farmworkers and other vulnerable California residents including humanitarian immigrants, families with children and foster youth.
“We want (legislators) to appropriate the money that we need to continue to make sure that no child in California is left hungry, that nobody that is disabled is being deprived,” she said. “It’s in the hands of the Legislature right now. We have the money. All they have to do is vote.”
For several members of the activist coalition, the issue holds personal significance. Yesenia Robancho, associate director of Policy and Strategy at End Child Poverty California, said she grew up watching family members including her parents skip meals just so she could eat.
“No child should have to wonder where their next meal is coming from,” she said. “That is what economic support means to a child. It means knowing that when your family is struggling, someone will be there.”
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Robancho said when federal policy strips food assistance from people, the consequences are felt far and wide: in food banks, schools, shelters, healthcare systems and more.
Bayley Craig, foster youth advocate at John Burton Advocates for Youth, also shared his personal experience of food insecurity as a former foster youth and CalFresh recipient.
He said there were days during his childhood when he and his brother had to walk to the grocery store by themselves and use their mother’s food stamp card to buy something to eat. Without that support, he said, they would have gone hungry.
Craig said CalFresh continued to be a lifeline for him at 18 years old, when he began living on his own and pursuing a college education. Having reliable access to food, he said, gave him the stability to “focus on education and continue building myself a better future.”
“When we make it harder for people to access food, we are not just taking food off the table. We are taking away stability and opportunities for people to move forward in their lives,” he said. “Food security is a basic foundation for a future, and we must continue to fight for it.”
Members of the activist coalition, including government relations manager at California Food Banks Gabby Davidson, acknowledged California’s $108 million investment in the CalFood program for the fiscal year 2026-27. The program allocates financial resources to food banks.
At the same time, they said further budget actions are needed to prevent a hunger crisis. West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero said food banks alone “cannot shoulder the burden.”
“I have seen children with their families waiting hours to receive just a handful of groceries that is supposed to cover them for the week,” she said. “That is insufficient.”
Throughout the event, members of the activist coalition chanted “Sí se puede,” Spanish for “Yes, it can be done” and the motto of the United Farm Workers coined by Huerta in 1972.
Huerta co-founded the UFW with fellow activists Gilbert Padilla and Cesar Chavez, whom a recent New York Times investigation found sexually assaulted Huerta and other women tied to the organization.
Huerta has advocated for labor rights, civil rights and women’s empowerment for over six decades.
“We’ve made a lot of advances over the years, and the one thing we want to make sure is that everything that we have fought for and wanted has not been taken away from us,” she said.
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