Advocates: Fed decision to eliminate SNAP Survey will impact CalFresh benefits

Photo courtesy California Black Media

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Sept. 20 that it is ending the longstanding annual food insecurity survey, which informs funding levels for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal food stamp program.

The Trump administration said it canceled the survey because it is “redundant, politicized, and costly,” the USDA stated.

 The final report will be published in October 2025 using data collected in 2024.“For 30 years, this study — initially created by the Clinton administration as a means to support the increase of SNAP eligibility and benefit allotment — failed to present anything more than subjective, ‘Trends in the prevalence of food insecurity have remained virtually unchanged, regardless of an over 87% increase in SNAP spending between 2019–2023,’” the USDA statement continued.

The annual report, titled Household Food Security in the United States, used data from the Food Security Supplement (FSS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national survey sponsored by the USDA’s Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS).

In fiscal year 2024, an average of 5.38 million people received SNAP benefits in California, equivalent to about 13.6% of the state’s 40 million residents.

SNAP, called CalFresh in California, is the nation’s largest food assistance program addressing food insecurity among low-income individuals and families. In 2023, almost 45% of adults in California struggled to afford food. Between 2023 and 2024, California administered a total of $12 billion to CalFresh recipients, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO).

U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) posted a video on her X account sharply criticizing former President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. Waters called the spending plan a “big, ugly bill,” warning that it would strip healthcare from 17 million Americans and push approximately 12 million people into hunger.

“We won't sit quietly while Republicans starve our people to feed the rich,” Waters stated in the video.

Following the USDA's elimination of the annual food survey, Mauricio Torres, communications director for the California Budget and Policy Center (Budget Center), called the move “deeply disappointing.”

The Budget Center is a nonprofit research and analysis organization that focuses on how state budget and policy decisions affect low- and middle-income residents. It has been providing independent analysis and accessible information on state fiscal matters since 1995.

In recent years, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has stopped publishing the number of CalFresh Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) recipients by race and ethnicity. As a result, the exact number of Black Californians receiving EBT benefits is not publicly available. EBT is the system used to issue food assistance through CalFresh, as well as cash aid. The EBT card, officially called the “Golden State Advantage” card, works like a debit card.

“Without this survey, policymakers, researchers, and advocates lose a valuable tool for tracking hunger trends across states and demographic groups — effectively flying blind in assessing how many families struggle to put food on the table,” Torres stated. “Eliminating this data source allows the Trump administration to dodge responsibility for policy decisions that increase suffering and will hinder the ability to quantify and address those effects.”

According to the Budget Center, policy changes in H.R. 1, signed into law by Trump in July, will impact over five million recipients of CalFresh benefits. By October 2027, an estimated loss in federal funds to California could reach up to $2 billion annually.

A July 2025 report from the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at UCLA revealed that food insecurity disproportionately affects Black Californians, numbering 483,000 (9%), while Latinos account for 55% of all CalFresh participants compared to 1,086,000 White participants (20%) and 628,000 Asian or Pacific Islander participants (11%).

“We call on the federal administration to restore this vital survey and safeguard the integrity of our nation’s data collection efforts. Without reliable information, policymakers cannot fully understand or address the hunger families face,” Torres stated.

Following legislation signed into law in July 2025, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) voiced concerns about the cuts to SNAP, claiming it would disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities, likely increasing food insecurity and potentially jeopardizing jobs.

In March, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Congresswoman and CBC chairperson Yvette Clarke (D-NY-9) expressed “grave concerns” over the effort to reduce benefits. Clarke said billions of dollars have been cut from SNAP benefits “that help millions of American families.”

“Twenty percent of Black households have faced food insecurity compared to 7% of their White counterparts. 42% of all SNAP recipients are children. In fact, four in five SNAP households include a child, an elder, or an individual with a disability. SNAP is not a handout; it is a lifeline,” Clarke added.

According to the USDA, the first Food Stamp Program began in 1939 as a pilot project under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to address unemployment and food surpluses during the Great Depression. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Food Stamp Act, making the program permanent. By 2008, the program’s name was changed from the Food Stamp Program to SNAP to reduce stigma and emphasize nutrition.

“Reliable, government-reported data are essential not just for tracking hunger, but for informing all aspects of public policy,” Torres stated. “Weakening the data compromises the ability to make sound, informed decisions that affect all Americans.”

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The above article by Antonio Ray Harvey is reprinted here with the permission of California Black Media, a partner of East Palo Alto Today.

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