BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — With potential cuts to state and federal food assistance programs on the horizon, anxiety is growing across campus and the broader community.
Hunter Moore, a senior and Vice President at Bakersfield College, says the uncertainty is already taking a toll.
“It does create a general sense of anxiety, worry, maybe even some anger,” Moore explained.
As the new fiscal year approaches on July 1, proposed reductions in funding for key programs threaten to limit access to essential resources. For many students, food banks are not a backup they are a necessity.
“We rely on food banks sometimes just to make ends meet, to have that source of nutritious food,” Moore said.
He’s far from alone.
According to Bakersfield College, roughly 5,000 students depend on the Renegade Food Bank, which distributes an average of 8,000 meals each month.
Concerns escalated earlier this week when Jared Call, a representative from CalFoods, warned of what he called a “perfect storm” of hunger and hardship.
“Right now is the perfect storm of hunger and hardship coming to California,” Call said. “We have seen federal cuts over the past year to the federal commodities program that provides food to food banks, and we have also seen rising food costs.”
Call added that funding for CalFoods could drop by as much as 90%, decreasing from $80 million to just $8 million.
Local organizations are already feeling the strain.
At Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), officials say donations alone are not enough to meet demand.
“We actually purchase a lot of food to supplement what’s been donated,” said Kelly Lowery of CAPK. “Unfortunately, what gets donated is very volatile one month we may get a lot, the next month we might not get that much.”
In 2025, CAPK provided more than 18 million meals to approximately 50,000 families many of whom could be directly affected by the proposed cuts.
Dr. Cesar Jimenez, Vice President of Student Services at Bakersfield College, emphasized the broader impact on student success.
“We need to be fully funded at the $80 million,” Jimenez said. “It’s not only impacting California and Kern County, but our students. How can we ask our students to do well in the classroom when we know they are hungry?”
As uncertainty grows, students like Moore are calling for action and accountability from local leaders.
“I would like them to get out there in the community, talk to people one-on-one, host town halls something to bring the community together to address this concern,” he said.
For many in Bakersfield, the message is clear: access to food is not just a social issue it’s an educational and economic one.
Community members say they want their voices heard before critical support systems are reduced, leaving thousands at risk of going hungry.
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