SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement after Senate Bill 464— The Comida Para Todos Act – passed the Senate 31-9:

“Hunger knows no border, no race and no nationality,” said Senator Hurtado. “It’s unacceptable that 1 in 10 Californians experienced food insecurity before the COVID-19 Pandemic, something that will only intensify as the state’s food supply is impacted due to drought. We must address this crisis by helping those who need it—regardless of their immigration status, and to make California a state where there is food for all.”

One in four undocumented households are food insecure, meaning that they have limited or inconsistent access to adequate food—disturbingly, more than half of undocumented migrant and seasonal workers are food insecure. These same essential workers, who worked tirelessly to provide food during the COVID-19 pandemic, are excluded from federal CalFresh and state-funded food assistance programs.

Senate Bill 464, the Comida Para Todos (Food for All Act.) This bill will provide greater food security to low-income immigrant workers by expanding eligibility for state funded nutrition benefits to anyone ineligible for CalFresh due solely to their immigration status.

Senator Hurtado has also introduced Senate Bill 108, which will require California’s governmental agencies to consider the human right to food as they create, amend or adopt regulations. It will also require reporting on the current and future status of food, food production, and food assistance.

Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

###