In the postpartum period, food is medicine. Nutrition directly affects milk supply, physical recovery, and mental health.
Last month, 72,000 Californians lost access to CalFresh. Not because they stopped qualifying. Not because their income increased or their basic needs were consistently met. Because Congress rewrote the rules — and decided that refugees, asylees, survivors of trafficking and other lawfully present immigrants no longer deserve food assistance. Many of them are postpartum. All of them are still hungry. [LAO]
These aren’t undocumented families. They came here legally — fleeing violence, persecution, and exploitation — and had been receiving food assistance they qualified for under federal law. Under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed last July, that eligibility is gone. Effective April 1, 2026.
A second wave hit this week on June 1. New work requirements now apply to adults ages 18 to 64 who don’t live with a child under 14. The good news for most families in our programs: parents of newborns, infants, and toddlers are still protected from this requirement. But parents of school-aged children, and those without children at home, must now prove 20 hours a week of work, training, or volunteer activity — or lose benefits within three months. [KQED]
There’s a third change already quietly in effect. The formula used to calculate monthly CalFresh benefits has been reduced, and utility costs like energy and internet no longer count toward what families receive. Families who haven’t changed a single thing about their lives may open their EBT app and find less than they had before, with no explanation.
And this isn’t over. These cuts are designed to escalate — with more cost-shifting to states that experts warn could put hundreds of thousands more Californians at risk.
Many of the families we support are immigrants, the exact communities these cuts are targeting. Research shows that food-insecure mothers are 1.5 times more likely to develop postpartum depression, and less likely to sustain breastfeeding because their own nutrition is compromised. [NIH] Cutting food assistance to a new mother isn’t a policy adjustment — it’s a health crisis, and it’s happening in real time.
This lack of support represents cruelty and societal injustice. If we want healthier families and stronger communities, we must begin by treating postpartum care as essential — medically, economically, and socially.
4th Trimester is here. If you or someone you know has been affected, reach out. We will meet you where you are.
If you’re in a position to give, please do. Right now, your support is what keeps us able to show up when systems fail.
