Emergency food assistance: COVID-19.

Existing law establishes and requires the State Department of Social Services to administer the CalFood Program to provide food and funding to food banks whose primary function is to facilitate the distribution of food to low-income households, as specified. This bill would establish a program to provide emergency food assistance. The program would require, upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature for this purpose, or upon a determination by the Governor that specified funds available to the Governor may be used for this purpose, the department to contract with a Feeding America partner state organization with the capacity to provide a food assistance benefit statewide, or another nonprofit entity that the department deems appropriate, to issue food assistance benefits in the form of a one-time use, prepaid card preloaded with $600 for use at retailers that sell groceries. The bill would require the cards to be issued on 2 different distribution periods at least one month apart to any adult who self-attests to eligibility for specified assistance programs. The bill would specify the procedures for administering this program. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.