In addition, roughly 1 in 3 Black adults (36.5%) reported household food insecurity in late 2025, more than double the rate for White adults. This is often exacerbated by “food deserts” in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
In March, Assembly Minority Leader Heath Flora (R-Ripon) expressed concerns about affordability in California, describing it as a crisis where families are being “pushed to the edge.”
Flora criticized the state government for delaying action while living expenses continue to rise. He noted that affordability issues vary by region, but particularly cited gas prices as a major expense draining family budgets in his district.
“Californians should not have to choose between putting food on the table or filling up their car,” Flora stated. “We need to cut costs now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. Now.”
Cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding are being driven by the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which is reducing federal spending by approximately $187 billion through 2034.
Those reductions are putting more pressure on the state to help, Ransom said.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to figure out where we can backfill, and that means we have to make changes to our budget,” Ransom said at the conference. “Just like families are choosing what they have to prioritize, as a state, we’re asking agencies to figure out what we need to prioritize.”
According to the AAA Gas Prices website, as of May 8, California’s gasoline prices averaged over $6 per gallon in some areas, with various locations experiencing spikes of $7 to $8 per gallon. In California, fuel prices are driven by refinery maintenance and market volatility, while high food prices are linked to rising transportation costs, experts say.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state was stepping in to offer Californians some relief with their energy bills via the California Climate Credit program, which offered over $1.4 billion in residential credits distributed in April —$894 million for electricity and $520 million for natural gas.
The credits are not taxpayer money, but rather a rebate from the state’s Cap-and-Invest program, which requires large emitters to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions. The program is managed by the California Air Resources Board.
“Thanks to the Legislature’s partnership, the Golden State is delivering on its promise to put money back in Californians’ pockets, and we’re making it work smarter and harder for households across the state,” Newsom stated.