Everyone has to eat!

1. Food is a human right.

2. Youth and community are powerful change-makers.

3. Love and justice belong in every policy discussion.

When a young person tastes that first meal from crops they’ve been tending to all season, they don’t just feed their body—they feed their future.

Today that future is under threat. Earlier we heard from Second Harvest Food Bank how Congress is proposing major cuts to SNAP (which here in California, we call, CalFresh.)  But these aren’t just numbers – they are empty lunch boxes of essential workers, they are skipped dinners of children learning to read and write, they are local farmers or businesses needing to lay off staff, our neighbors, because of the ripple effects we heard about.

We know it’s not ok for an Abuela or Abuelo to skip a meal so their grandchildren can eat. We know it’s not ok when a parent has to choose between rent and dinner. 

SNAP/CALFRESH is too important to be cut down.

AND - We know that no matter what happens, this community, our friends, our families, our local nonprofits, our farmers, our businesses, our politicians, WILL step up to ensure everyone is fed.  That everyone has food – one of our most basic of human needs –  to make it through the day.  

But let’s not let it get to that.  Let’s stand together in our collective power and challenge our leaders to maintain this critically important program.

Hunger is not a budget line; hunger is a moral failure. And while hunger often exists in silence; hope spreads by word of mouth.  So let’s join together and speak up!

Go to PVCollaborative.org and share your message to the politicians that will be deciding the fate of SNAP/CALFRESH.  

As the Pajaro Valley Collaborative,  we will then send these messages to the politicians as one community to say: No cuts to SNAP/CALFRESH!

And if you prefer to speak up on social media – spread the word using the hashtag:

#OhSNAP!WeneedyouCALFRESH!

Or #STAYCalFresh

And of course, if you’re looking to sign up for CalFresh, you can go in person to 500 Westridge Dr just past Green Valley Cinema, or go to www.getcalfresh.org to sign up on line.