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California food banks warn of sharply reduced buying power without state Cal Food and paused federal commodity shipments
Summary
Food-bank leaders told the Assembly committees that paused federal commodity orders and a reduction in state Cal Food funding would force closures of sites, staffing cuts and reduced food variety for clients.
Becky Silva, executive director of the California Association of Food Banks, told the joint Assembly hearing that food banks across the state are serving millions of people each month and that recent federal and state funding developments are creating a significant shortfall in purchased food.
"There is no plan B," Silva said, describing network responses if state Cal Food funding falls to a planned baseline and if federal commodity shipments remain paused or canceled.
Nut graf: Food-bank testimony focused on two immediate risks: (1) USDA entitlement and emergency commodity shipments that have been paused or canceled in recent months, and (2) a sharp drop in annual state Cal Food appropriations from multi-year averages to a baseline of $8 million in 2025—26. Food-bank operators said both changes would reduce the amount and variety of food they can buy and distribute and would force staffing reductions or closures of distribution sites in many communities.
What food banks reported: - TFAP commodity impact: In the prior three months, food banks experienced approximately 300 canceled or paused truckloads of TFAP commodity distributions, with one large regional bank seeing more than 70 truckloads affected. Those cancellations reduce a predictable supply of commodity foods. - Cal Food funding cliff: Food banks used Cal Food to purchase 80 million pounds of California-grown food in 2024; projected baseline funding of $8 million per year would be a steep drop from recent multi-year averages (~$60 million annually), forcing many food banks to reduce paid staff or close distribution sites.
Ending: Food-bank leaders asked legislators to support the network through stable state funding that preserves the Cal Food purchasing program and urged coordination with the Legislature on federal advocacy to restore or protect commodity shipments and nutrition funding.
