For Immediate Release: September 22, 2022

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

DELANO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) held a press event where she presented a check for $40 million for “Food 4 All.” Food 4 All will expand California Food Assistance Programs to include undocumented seniors. She also urged the Governor to sign SB 1066—The Farmworkers Drought Resilience Pilot Project which will provide eligible farmworker households with financial assistance to meet their basic needs:

“No one should be going hungry in a State with the world’s 5th largest economy, which is why I’m proud to announce $40 million in new funding to expand California’s Food Assistance Program to undocumented seniors,” said Senator Hurtado. “This funding will be especially critical here in the Central Valley, where drought is causing farmers to fallow their fields and leaving farmworkers without predictable wages or stable jobs. Combine that with the rising cost of living, and many seniors are experiencing dangerous food insecurity. The budget funding announced today will help reduce that risk, but we can’t stop there. I’m also calling on Governor Newsom to sign my bill, SB 1066, which would be a significant step forward and help provide desperately needed financial relief to struggling farmworkers and their families.”

Senate Bill 1066 will create a state-funded supplemental pay program that will provide cash assistance to eligible farmworkers. The bill directs the Department of Social Services to develop and implement the program, ensuring they have the flexibility they need to carry out the pilot project, while also meeting the needs of the farmworker population.

Senator Hurtado secured $40 million to provide greater food security to low-income immigrant workers by expanding eligibility for state funded nutrition benefits to seniors ineligible for CalFresh due solely to their immigration status.

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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