SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement after her bill, Senate Bill 393—The Farmworker Access to Childcare Act--passed the Senate:

“Those who uproot their lives to provide the food we eat are the backbone of our community,” said Senator Hurtado. “Throughout the pandemic, while many stayed at home to avoid COVID-19 infections, migrant workers worked long hours to ensure we had food on the table, experiencing COVID infection rates up to three times higher than those in other professions. Migrant workers travel to where their work takes them—which leads to instability and unreliability regarding their childcare options. SB 393 will help ease the burden to quickly obtain childcare that migrant workers face when relocating to a new community as they continue to provide for the State, Nation and world.”

Due to an outdated law, California’s critical farmworkers have lost out on roughly $400,000 in additional childcare vouchers for families to access.  SB 393--The Farmworkers Access to Childcare Act-- will address the unique operational costs of this program, such as the need to maintain five satellite offices for field workers to access childcare as well as align the state’s only Migrant Childcare Program funding stream with other voucher based childcare programs.

This legislative session, Senator Hurtado introduced Senate Bill 464-- Comida Para Todos (Food for All Act.) This bill works towards providing 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. She successfully secured language in the budget speaking to the Legislature’s intent in working towards this end in future years. Senator Hurtado also introduced Senate Bill 108, which would have required 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

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