San Francisco, United States – Single mother Greer Dove visits a food bank in Marin County weekly to pick up vegetables, fruit, and other essentials. Her eight-year-old daughter has special needs, and together with federal SNAP benefits, this support helps them get by.
“We need this so we can keep functioning at a high level,” Dove says. She has relied on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) for six years and the food bank for over three. Before receiving benefits, she often skipped meals to feed her daughter.
President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), passed in June, cut SNAP by over $186 billion over a decade. An estimated 3 million people nationwide and 665,000 in California could lose benefits. “This presents an existential threat to food benefits,” says Andrew Cheyne of the County Welfare Directors Association of California.
California’s proposed billionaire tax – a one-time 5% levy on assets of the state’s 200+ billionaires – garnered over 1.5 million signatures in April and may appear on the November ballot. It aims to raise nearly $100 billion, with 10% earmarked for food benefit shortfalls.
Over 5.3 million Californians receive food aid. Cuts began in April when 72,000 immigrants lost benefits. From June, nearly 600,000 recipients face work eligibility screening. “Jobs are increasingly precarious, but nutrition needs are steady,” says UC Berkeley law professor Brian Galle.
Food bank director Roberto Alfaro notes that high food costs persist since the pandemic. “People are making impossible choices,” says Keely O’Brien of the Western Center for Law and Poverty. SNAP rolls have shrunk by 3.3 million nationally since July 2025, and by 288,000 (6%) in California through February 2026.
The OBBBA shifts administrative costs to states. Arizona saw a 51% drop in SNAP rolls. Tech entrepreneurs, including Google cofounder Sergey Brin, have spent over $57 million opposing the billionaire tax, backing measures to invalidate it. Brin said he “fled socialism” and fears California heading the same way.
“We expect to be outspent,” says Kris Cuaresma-Primm of the pro-tax coalition. Studies show wealth taxes cause minimal flight, but enforcement challenges remain. Greer Dove worries: “The anxiety is adding up. I could be next.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com