Skip to main content

Reps. Panetta, Cisneros, and Schiff Lead call to Extend Nutrition Program Flexibilities and Help Feed California Seniors

September 4, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39), and Adam Schiff (CA-28) led the Congressional California Delegation in urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to extend flexibilities, under existing USDA authorities, to allow local food agencies to deliver Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) food packages through private partners. The USDA provided the flexibilities at the outset of the pandemic, which were extended for one month in May and expired at the end of June. As a result, nearly 40,000 thousand seniors statewide did not receive their CSFP food package the following month due to an inability to leave the safety of their home. In total, 41 members of the California Delegation sent a letter to Secretary Perdue asking for this extension. To view the letter, click here.

"Earlier this year, the USDA made the Commodity Supplemental Food Program more flexible to make it easier for local food banks to work with private partners to deliver food packages to low-income seniors. Unfortunately, the USDA has allowed these common-sense rules to expire, forcing seniors to risk exposure to COVID-19 as they obtain much-needed food assistance," said Rep. Panetta. "I'm calling on the USDA to renew these flexibilities so that our food banks can continue to serve our most vulnerable seniors safely."

"Throughout this crisis, food banks in the 39th District and across California have been stepping up to serve and feed our communities. However, inaction from USDA to extend critical flexibilities for no-contact food package delivery risks the food insecurity for nearly 40,000 California seniors, especially in Orange and LA Counties," said Rep. Cisneros. "Amid a pandemic and with wildfires ravaging the state, we cannot let our seniors go hungry. I'm proud to lead the California Delegation with Reps. Schiff and Panetta in urging Agriculture Secretary Perdue to extend the CSFP flexibilities, support our local food banks, and help feed our seniors. Our most vulnerable neighbors shouldn't have to put their health at risk to get the food they need."

"Since the start of the pandemic, I've joined the ranks of so many volunteers for organizations delivering meals to some of our most vulnerable citizens. Each time, I've heard how much these services mean to people in need, and how hard it would be to safely access nutritious food without them," said Rep. Schiff. "That's why we must take action to support these critical efforts, and without these waivers, seniors might be forced to choose between going hungry and putting their health at risk. This pandemic is not over, we are not back to normal, and thousands of people in Los Angeles are food insecure. We need to do everything we can to ensure that those from our most vulnerable populations don't go hungry."

According to data provided by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), statewide CSFP utilization for the month of July dropped to 84,981 seniors served, down from a high of 120,500 seniors in May, representing a decrease of 30 percent.

"The moment continues to call for the flexibilities the USDA had deemed necessary at the outset of the global pandemic. It is now intensified by the impact of California's wildfires on the air quality, compounding the health risks to our seniors," the members wrote in the letter. "We support the request made by the CDSS and local food agencies asking for flexibilities that will allow them to resume no-contact deliveries of CSFP food packages through private partners for the duration of the public health emergency."

The California Delegation asked the USDA to reapprove the following flexibilities:

  1. Allow for the delivery of CSFP food packages to a senior's home without the identification of the recipient needed at the time of delivery;
  2. Eliminate the requirement for a signature at the time of delivery; and
  3. Eliminate the requirement that perishable cheese be included in all delivered CSFP food packages.