Millions go to taxpayer-funded aid for state’s hungry families

This story originally appeared in The Center Square.

Approximately $15 million of California’s taxpayer money is shoring up the federally-run Local Food Purchase Assistance Program after the federal government made cuts.

Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Stockton, who was one of the state politicians to advocate for funds to help California’s hungry families, was not available for an interview on Friday. However, in a press release sent earlier this month, she said the $15 million expenditure on the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program was part of a larger push to use state funds to more adequately meet the needs of hungry families.

“Our agricultural and logistics economy helps keep California the fourth-largest economy in the world,” Ransom said in the press release. “I am proud of the substantial investments I’ve helped secure this term. I want the needs I hear from our residents reflected in the budget and policy decisions made at the state level.”

According to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program allows food banks throughout the state to buy fresh, locally-grown food from regional farmers and producers.

Numbers provided by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank show that the state used more than $88 million of federal money before the feds terminated an agreement with the state in March 2025 that would have funded the program in California. The state dollars allocated to continuing the program this year help to feed the 1.1 million people who rely on the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank – just a fraction of the one in four people in Los Angeles County who are food insecure, said David May, senior director of marketing for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

“For food banks, having resources specifically available to purchase locally grown food gives us another tool to maintain a diverse and nutritious food supply for the communities we serve,” May told The Center Square in an email Friday. “These dollars can help food banks put nutritious food on the tables of families, seniors, and individuals while also creating reliable markets for California farmers and producers. That combination of supporting people facing hunger while keeping food dollars within California communities is one of the program’s strengths.”

According to 2024 data from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 47.2% of Californians experienced food insecurity, meaning they have limited, uncertain or inconsistent access to food. Approximately 57% of single adults with children reported incomes of less than 200% of the federal poverty level and couldn’t afford enough food to feed themselves and their children in 2024, and 55% of adults aged 25 to 39 whose incomes were less than 200% of the federal poverty level experienced food insecurity, the highest percentage of any age group surveyed in the 2024 numbers from UCLA.

The Center Square reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for comment, but did not hear back by publication time. Lawmakers who chair budget committees or authored legislation this year aiming to help California’s hungry families also did not respond to The Center Square. The Central California Food Bank declined to comment. California Food Banks, an association of 43 food banks, also did not respond to The Center Square.

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