Update as of May 30th:
Some good news: Assemblymember Phil Ting and the Assembly budget committee included $35 million in their version of the state budget! This is an exciting step in the right direction, but it isn’t finalized yet.
Over the next few days, the Senate and Assembly will work to marry their two versions of the budget and then send it to the Gov. Newsom. CNIP is NOT in the Senate version of the budget, which means, we MUST continue to educate and advocate with the Senate and the Governor regarding the importance of including CNIP in the budget.
Your local senate members are bolded below!
Original Post:
Hello Bounty community! We recently learned that California Gov. Gavin Newsom did not include one-time funding in the May Revise of the State budget for the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) at California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) Office of Farm to Fork. CNIP funds Market Match, a statewide program that Farmers Market LIFE markets participate in to make local food more accessible to CalFresh customers. Market Match is a great program that also supports local vendors by encouraging CalFresh customers to purchase locally produced fruits and vegetables, further benefiting the local economy.
Without the funding, Market Matchs face a serious threat of coming to an abrupt end.
We are encouraging everyone in our network to reach out to your local representatives to advocate for this program, sharing any personal testimonials you may have. Your representative will vary depending on where you live, but here’s a short-list:
In the State Assembly, there are three key representatives. You can click on their website to see their specific map!
Jim Wood – 2nd Assembly District – Santa Rosa & Healdsburg -call (916) 319-2002 and (707) 576-2526 or email at a02.asmdc.org/contact
Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry, 4th Assembly District – City of Sonoma – call (916) 319-2004 or email at /a04.asmdc.org/contact-me-0
Damon Connolly – 12th Assembly District – Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Marin – call (707) 576-2631 and (707) 576-2631 or email at a12.asmdc.org/contact
In the State Senate, your representative are:
Mike McGuire – Senate District 2 – Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg – call (707) 576-2771 or email senator.mcguire@senate.ca.gov
Bill Dodd – Senate District 3 – Sonoma, Cotati, and Rohnert Park – call (707) 576-2093 or email sd03.senate.ca.gov/contact
Learn more about this issue by reading/listening to the following content and spread the word by sharing on your social networks:
- There was an op-ed written on May 18th by Shawn Harrison and Lesley Kroupa called California must continue funding Nutrition Incentive Program.
- It was also covered recently on the Flipping the Table podcast with Michael Dimock: Will California’s Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) live on? You can listen on Stitcher, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
- Economic Contributions of Healthy Food Incentives (2021) Report and CA. Policy Brief
- Market Match Impact Report on the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (2018) Report