The last tortilla: How budget cuts can derail a program that keeps people fed and employed

Show Caption

Food banks have come a long way since the era of canned food and government cheese.

Walk into any food bank now and you are likely to see milk, bread, sacks of beans, rice, flour and all the produce befitting a state that is the largest agricultural producer in the country.

But a program California’s network of 41 food banks relies on to buy rarely donated items like eggs and meat is at risk of losing critical funding, according to the California Association of Food Banks.

The CalFood Program, which is used to purchase, store and distribute food grown or produced in California, is facing a budget cut of nearly $54 million in June, taking their annual budget from $62 million to $8 million.

The association has requested $60 million of ongoing funding to be able to meet hunger needs.

The cuts could not come at a worse time, according to food bank officials, as the Trump Administration continues to seek cuts to federal safety net programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to help pay for tax cuts for the country’s wealthiest business owners and households.

“SNAP is our nation’s biggest and most powerful anti-hunger program,” said Lauren Lathan Reid, director of communications and member engagement for the California Association of Food Banks.

As of November 2024, about 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. California had 5.8 million SNAP recipients.

The budget resolution that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week requested the Agriculture Committee to identify $230 billion in spending cuts through 2034, most of which would come from SNAP, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, resulting in low-income households in every state losing the support they need to put food on the table, worsening food insecurity and hardship.

“When there are proposed cuts that will severely cut SNAP it will trickle down to the food banks and we are already serving record numbers,” said Lathan Reid, adding that food banks already serve people whose current SNAP benefits do not last the month.

Last year, the state’s food banks served more than 6 million people.

California, which has a cost-of-living that is 41.3% higher than the national average, according to Insurify, also has a rising level of food insecurity.

About 22% of all households in the Golden State, and 27% of households with children experienced hunger as of September 2024, according to California food bank data.

Over the years, food banks have partnered with school districts, community-based organizations, and colleges and universities to establish local food pantries to serve a greater number of families and students in need.

Cultural food items sourced from local businesses

Food assistance programs, like SNAP and the CalFood program provide hidden economic benefits as recipients spend money at retailers and local food producers.

According to the USDA, $1 billion in new SNAP benefits would increase GDP by $1.54 billion and support 13,560 jobs, including 480 agricultural jobs.

The CalFood Program, which represented 37% of the food bank network’s food purchasing budget in 2024, and over half of the purchasing budgets for 18 food banks, according to the California Association of Food Banks, must be used to purchase food from producers in the state.

During the COVID pandemic, the Community Food Bank of San Benito County used program funds to purchase tortillas from El Nopal Panaderia and Tortilla Factory in Hollister.

In addition to products like milk and meat, CalFood funds can be used to purchase culturally relevant food items like tortillas, enchilada sauce or sacks of harina.

For Francisco “Frankie” Berlanga, owner of El Nopal, the relationship with the food bank came at the perfect time.

“I was about to lose two to three workers or cut everybody’s hours,” Berlanga said. “Most of my workers have been here for years and I felt bad about doing that.”

The tortillas, which he sells to the food bank at a heavily discounted price, enabled him to retain the workers. Since then, El Nopal has continued to provide the food bank with 600 packs of tortillas — half corn, half flour, each month.

“When people think of the food bank, they think people are just going to get food, but it’s also about the businesses that provide for the food bank and the people that work there,” Berlanga said. “We have 26 employees, so that is 26 families that are impacted.”