California Has Money to Feed Everyone—Gavin Newsom Chooses Not To
Photo Credit: Oscar Wong / Getty Images
Working families across California are about to lose food access because politicians from both political parties serve billionaires, not us.
On November 1st, 5.5 million working people in California—including your neighbors, coworkers, and maybe your own family—won't be able to buy groceries. That's because politicians in Washington and California are playing games, cutting off CalFresh federal food assistance, while working families go hungry.
The Ramsey for Governor campaign demands Gavin Newsom use his authority to take immediate and urgent action to stop this crisis. California receives over $1.1 billion monthly in federal food assistance – the most in the nation. CalFresh benefits aren't handouts—this is money working people have earned through our taxes. A single mom working at McDonald's won't be able to feed her kids. A disabled veteran won't be able to buy medication AND groceries. Families who work full-time jobs still can't afford food without this support because billionaires keep wages low while they get richer. Gavin Newsom has only pledged $80 million dollars for state funds for November, just 7.2% of the total budget required to maintain CalFresh benefits.
As governor, Newsom has the power to fix this crisis but won’t use it.
Here's How Newsom Could Solve This in Three Steps:
Step 1: Declare a State of Emergency
Millions of working families facing hunger is an emergency. When the governor declares a state of emergency, California Emergency Services Act allows the governor to “use and expend any funds available” to solve the crisis. Newsom could use this power to spend emergency money to keep families fed. Three other governors—in Louisiana, Delaware, and Virginia—already declared emergencies and are using state money to prevent hunger in their states. Newsom could do the same today.
Step 2: Use California's $11 Billion Emergency Fund
California has an $11.2 billion emergency fund called the Budget Stabilization Account. This money exists for exactly this kind of crisis. Newsom can call an emergency legislative session to access these funds—enough to cover CalFresh benefits for multiple months while politicians figure out their mess.
Step 3: Stop Playing Politics with People's Lives
Instead of taking action, Newsom is filing lawsuits that will take months to resolve. He's sending the National Guard to distribute food that was already in food banks. This doesn't solve anything—it just makes him look busy while families can't afford groceries. And it doesn’t change the fact that on November 1st, millions of people will no longer be able to afford groceries. And anticipating hunger, some police forces have announced they are going to increase patrols to grocery stores. Their solution is to criminalize hunger, when the state government could step in.
The Real Problem: A System Rigged for the Rich
This crisis isn't an accident. It is a political choice that shows exactly how our system works: 194 billionaires hoard $1.2 trillion in California while 19 million working people struggle to survive. We create all the wealth through our work, but can't afford basic needs like food.
Corporations like Walmart, McDonald's, and Amazon have rigged the game so working people's taxes pay their workers' grocery bills. One-fifth of California's fast-food workers depend on CalFresh because companies like McDonald's refuse to pay living wages. Walmart employs 14,500 workers nationwide who need food stamps just to eat. These Wall Street corporations pocket the difference as pure profit while taxpayers pay $153 billion yearly to subsidize their poverty wages. It's corporate welfare for the rich, paid for by working people.
While working families choose between groceries and rent, billionaires get richer. The same politicians who won't guarantee food access for families give tax breaks to corporations and billionaires who don't need them.
Working People Are Fighting Back
But working people aren't waiting for politicians to save us. Restaurants are planning to provide free meals for families who lose their CalFresh benefits. Working class people are organizing themselves to help their neighbors buy groceries. Volunteers are organizing food drives to step in while the state fails us. Food banks are preparing to serve millions more people.
This is what real solidarity looks like—working people taking care of each other when the system designed by billionaires fails us.
We Have the Power to Win More Than Emergency Food
The power to end this crisis belongs to the millions of working people who are ready to fight back against these attacks. When we organize together, we can demand more than just emergency food distribution and restoration of CalFresh assistance. We can guarantee food as a human right—not something politicians can take away through political games.
The thousands of protests across the country this month are part of the same tradition that won the eight-hour workday, civil rights, and won the Fight for $15 that made California the first state to guarantee a $15 minimum wage in 2016. Mass movements of working people have the power to shut down systems that don't serve us.
A general strike can happen again. Together, we can demand immediate action to protect food access. But we can go further—we can make sure California's massive wealth serves working people, not just the billionaires who hoard it.
California's $4.1 trillion economy has enough wealth to guarantee food, housing, and healthcare for everyone. The only thing stopping us is a political system controlled by corporations who pay poverty wages that cause working families to go hungry.
Our power comes from standing together. When we fight for each other, we win.
