Top Takeaways Three in 10 Californians say they or someone in their home has cut back on food to save money. Nearly 3 in 4 California families with a child under 6 say they have struggled with one or more basic needs, such as utilities, housing, food, health care and child care. This has been an especially challenging year for Rosalba Ortega’s family. It’s been a cold, soggy winter in Bakersfield, and Ortega said her two granddaughters, ages 4 and 7, don’t have warm coats for their walk to school. Rent and food prices have been climbing, and as a farmworker, she’s struggled to find work in the fields. Last month’s delays to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — known in California as CalFresh — hit her grandkids at a time when her family is already struggling to put food on the table. “There’s not much food for them,” said Ortega, in Spanish. “We have to look for low prices to buy for them. Sometimes the shelters give us food and that helps us a lot.” Ortega said her family never had to rely on shelters and churches for food in the past, but this year has been different. She isn’t alone. Disruptions to SNAP amid the government shutdown last month came at a time when California families say they are increasingly struggling to meet basic needs, including putting food on the table. Three in 10 Californians — and half of lower-income residents — say they or someone in…
