For Immediate Release: May 14, 2025
Contact: Nick VaVerka, (916) 651-4614 [email protected]

 

Tackling California’s affordability crisis: Senator Alvarado-Gil’s Farm to Food Bank Tax Credit extension advances

 

SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) announced Senate Bill 353 (SB 353), which makes California’s Farm to Food Bank Tax Credit permanent, passed out of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee with unanimous bipartisan support.

 

“California’s affordability crisis continues to strain families across the state, making it harder for many to access the basics they need,” said Senator Alvarado-Gil, Vice Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “SB 353 helps ease that burden by ensuring farmers can keep donating fresh food to food banks without uncertainty. By making this credit permanent, we’re supporting both our hardworking farmers and the vulnerable Californians who rely on food banks to feed their families.”

 

Currently set to expire in 2027, the Farm to Food Bank Tax Credit offers a 15% tax incentive to farmers who donate fresh produce and other agricultural products, including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains, to local food banks. This program has been instrumental in getting millions of pounds of fresh food to food banks statewide while reducing food waste from unsellable yet high-quality crops.

 

SB 353 provides long-term certainty for food banks and small to mid-sized farmers, helping them plan for the future with confidence. For food banks, it ensures a consistentnt flow of nutritious donations to communities, particularly to seniors, veterans, and pregnant women, who are disproportionately affected by food insecurity. According to the California Association of Food Banks, 22% of California households, and 27% of households with children, struggle to put food on the table.

 

In 2023 alone, the Farm to Food Bank Tax Credit resulted in $8.2 million in food donations, with over $769,000 in tax credits awarded to farmers. Permanently extending the credit ensures that the cycle of giving continues without disruption, allowing farmers, especially those in rural areas, to continue their support of food banks. This helps reduce the strain on California’s food safety net and provides families with reliable access to fresh, healthy food.

 

As a lead witness testifying in support of SB 353, Mike Sproull, Founder and Executive Director of the Food Bank of El Dorado County, underscored the importance of the bill and praised the Senator’s leadership.

 

“Senator Alvarado-Gil genuinely cares about the less fortunate in rural California, and The Food Bank of El Dorado County shares the same compassion. We will continue to work together to ensure our most at-risk are cared for in communities throughout California.”

 

SB 353 will now move on to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.