Apr 10 Oppose letter Governor's Proposed Budget Cuts Market Match Program

April 10, 2024

The Honorable Governor Gavin Newsom
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, California 95814

State Senator Scott Weiner
Chair, Senate Budget Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8620
Sacramento, CA 95814

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel
Chair, Assembly Budget Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8330
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE:  Market Match CNIP/CDFA Program – Oppose Governor’s Budget Proposed Cuts 

Dear Governor Newsom and Senate and Assembly Budget Leaders:

On behalf of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, I respectfully request that you keep the $35 million already allocated in the 2024 budget to ensure continued support of the ongoing California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) in California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) Office of Farm to Fork. This safety net funding will maintain the statewide Market Match nutrition incentive program that provides tens of millions of fruit and vegetable servings to low-income Californians. 

We understand there is a budget crisis and that tough decisions will need to be made. However, with our very high cost of living, safety net programs must be prioritized, including CNIP which funds Market Match. Market Match is a 14-year-old program that matches CalFresh and WIC benefits dollar-for-dollar at Farm-direct sites, such as farmers markets. This program drives health equity, and economic development in rural areas such as West Marin. The program also brings in federal matching grant dollars to California, including more than $30 million from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP).

Now is not the time to be cutting programs that support low-income shoppers, especially those that bring in significant federal dollars to our state. Since the beginning of the pandemic, CalFresh enrollment has grown significantly, and as a result, Market Match participation has more than tripled. 

In 2022, low-income shoppers spent $19.5 million in Market Match and CalFresh combined at 270 participating farmers’ markets in 39 counties across California. In Marin, the Market Match program last year resulted in over 8,500 transactions by low-income residents and nearly $200,000 worth of additional purchases of fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets. 73% of Market Match customers surveyed increased the amount of produce purchased, 85% have purchased different kinds of produce, and 71% said their family’s health improved.

The more than 38 million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased statewide under Market Match have helped reduce the cost of diet-related illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer that disproportionately impact low-income Californians.  

Market Match is the largest CNIP program; available at 293 sites in 52 counties, 37 Senate districts, and 66 Assembly districts. The program is a win-win-win: increasing the spending power of low-income Californians, enhancing access to fresh, healthy produce and food, and reinvesting state and federal dollars into California’s small and mid-sized farms and rural communities. The program has an economic multiplier impact of more than $3 for every dollar spent.

Market Match has invested more than a decade in building this public-private partnership to effectively execute on the ground at the local level across the state. Even a one-year gap in funding will dismantle the infrastructure we have built and lay off many long-term expert program operators in grassroots organizations, and leave federal match dollars on the table for other states.

For the above reasons, we respectfully request that you protect the $35 million previously approved in the 2023/24 CA Budget Act for the California Nutrition Incentive Program.

Sincerely,

Dennis Rodoni, President
Marin County Board of Supervisors

Cc:       Marin County Board of Supervisors
Senator Mike McGuire
Assemblymember Damon Connolly