A local food coalition advocates for solid ground amid political chaos.

Sometimes, this is what democracy looks like.

It is a group of members of the Monterey County Food System Coalition meeting via Zoom, reviewing a draft letter line by line, word by word.

“Dear Senator [Last Name],” their draft letter opens. “I’m writing to urge you to protect and strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as budget negotiations continue. SNAP is a lifeline for 5.5 million Californians… ”

As they work on the bullet points showing evidence of the benefits of that lifeline, Mia McKernan, a program manager at Aspire Health, suggests adding a mention of reduced health care costs, sharing a link to a 2017 study showing that SNAP recipients on average had $4,800 lower annual health care costs than non-recipients.

This kind of advocacy work is new for the coalition, which formed more than six years ago to bring various voices active from the food and agriculture realm together. Now, as they look at potential state budget reductions and federal policy changes, the group’s work is being put to the test.

“It’s just so crazy how devastating it’s going to be if it… I don’t even want to think about it,” McKernan says as they discuss their letter to senators during a late May meeting, about a week after the federal reconciliation bill (called the One Big, Beautiful Bill) passed out of the House of Representatives and moved over to the U.S. Senate. The House version would represent the largest cuts to SNAP in American history, about $267 billion. The bill would create a work requirement for most recipients, taking away food assistance from roughly 3.2 million American adults per month, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “If anything, we need to broaden eligibility,” McKernan says.

The coalition is a nonpartisan group that implements programs meant to boost healthy food production, distribution and consumption. Genevieve LeBlanc is the senior policy lead for food systems at Blue Zones Monterey County, and oversees the coalition. The group brings together leaders from institutions that procure a lot of food (schools, hospitals), health and public health officials, ag industry representatives and nonprofits active in the food sector with a mission “to strengthen human, economic and environmental health for all.”

Among past successes, in 2023 the group worked with nonprofit Fullwell among other partners to launch Double Up Food Bucks at La Princesa Market in Salinas. The brilliantly crafted state initiative, funded with $35 million in 2023 for a two-year period, is a win-win-win for growers, consumers and grocers. Shoppers at participating stores who pay for groceries using CalFresh receive 50-percent off at checkout when they buy California-grown, fresh produce, up to $15 a day.

The CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Pilot Project followed with $10 million in state funding to try a similar (but automated) program at a handful of grocery stores across the state, including Santa Fe Foods in Salinas. The pilot was set to run through Jan. 31 of this year, but ended early – it ran out of funds because it was so popular.

A priority for the Monterey County Food System Coalition is getting the state to restart these initiatives, which are dependent on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature on the budget bill by June 30. His proposal included zero dollars. While advocates – including the coalition – had requested $63 million, the pending budget includes $36 million, a something-is-better-than-nothing compromise that would at least allow the program to continue.

Advocacy is new for this coalition, but the group was already in place and ready to start taking action. The restoration of some state funding felt like a good indicator of success, LeBlanc says, noting support from local representatives in Sacramento.

What’s less obvious is what will happen in Washington, but at least there’s an infrastructure in place to defend the nutrition needs of this community. That will be needed as we face massive pending SNAP cuts, in a country that has failed to eradicate hunger.

“It feels like the time calls for this,” LeBlanc says. “There are things I didn’t think were ever at risk – like SNAP – and that changes everything. I felt an inner: We’ve got to do something.”

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com.