This year, Oregon lawmakers and food advocates are beginning their efforts to provide cash food benefits to immigrants who are not eligible under federal regulations.
The group that would be eligible for state aid has been reduced to children, youth, and older individuals who are at danger of starvation when a measure was not passed in 2023.
Supporters tried in vain to have a plan passed in 2023 that would have given the state money to give food benefits to roughly 62,000 people who were not eligible for the federal payments. The goal of Food for All Oregonians, a partnership between the Oregon Food Bank and over 160 organizations, is to ensure that all immigrants receive the food benefits they would otherwise be eligible for under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Approximately 447,000 households, or 770,000 Oregonians, get SNAP food benefits. Benefits for food totaled $138.4 million in November, or $309 per month on average for each family. Individuals must make up to $2,510 and a family of four must make up to $5,200 per month in order to be eligible.
Advocates said on Monday that they are promoting a trimmed-down version of the bill, Senate Bill 611, which would give state-funded food benefits to immigrants who are 55 years of age or older and who are not eligible for SNAP benefits due to their immigration status. All disqualified immigrants, regardless of age, would have been covered by the 2023 measure, which was killed in a budget subcommittee.
“This bill isn’t just about food; it’s about creating a more robust and equitable Oregon where everyone can prosper,” stated Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, who is the bill’s primary sponsor.
The category consists of residents and undocumented immigrants covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Legal permanent residents who have not yet spent five years in the United States are also included, as this is typically a prerequisite for receiving SNAP benefits.
In an interview, Andrea Williams, president of the Oregon Food Bank, stated that the two groups targeted by this particular measure are our children and our elders, who are most susceptible to food insecurity. We don’t want to stop there just yet. Eventually, we would enjoy all ages.
Advocates are still unsure of the price and the proportion of the 62,000 individuals who fit within the two age groups.
President Donald Trump’s threats of mass deportations, a halt to refugee admissions, and changes to the government social safety net have all contributed to the increased focus on immigration concerns.
“As Oregonians, these policies are directly at odds with our values,” Williams stated. The state of Oregon can and should set an example.
Despite having one Republican co-sponsor, Crane farmer and representative Mark Owens, the bill has Democratic support, according to Campos, who is trying to find another Republican senator to endorse it.
The Senate Human Services Committee approved her 2023 plan, but a joint budget subcommittee did not vote on it.
David Soria Garcia, a Tillamook resident who attended the event and is a member of the food bank’s policy leadership board, said he understands what it’s like to go hungry.
Soria Garcia remarked, “I understand the sense of wondering if you will survive the week while carrying the hopes and dreams of your family.” I am here today, however, to advocate for a future in which no one must go hungry because of that fight and my resolve to build a better life.
According to Williams, reducing hunger has further advantages.
Families are less likely to be evicted from their homes when they have access to SNAP, she said. Their children will perform better in school, and they will be able to stay in their employment longer. All of this is connected. We are arguing that one of the state’s priorities should be providing food for Oregonians.
One of the coalition’s members, the Oregon Latino Health Coalition, highlighted how immigrants are helping to feed Oregonians despite their inability to receive SNAP.
According to Andrea Vanessa Castillo, policy and advocacy manager at the Oregon Latino Health Coalition, having access to wholesome food is essential for good health. Families throughout our state depend on immigrants and refugees to put food on the table. They are still not eligible for SNAP or other vital programs, though.
According to Castillo, the prevalence of type-2 diabetes is higher among Latinos and other ethnicities, in part due to their limited access to food.
According to a 2023 analysis by the Food Research & Action Center, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and research organization dedicated to combating poverty, six states, including California and Washington, offer food aid programs for noncitizens. Following a 1996 law by Congress that prohibited food aid to noncitizens, 18 states launched such programs. Later, Congress amended the legislation to permit similar assistance for foreign nationals who had been lawful residents for five years.
Williams stated that the law is the anti-hunger coalition’s main priority, but she also admitted that it must complement other initiatives, such Gov. Tina Kotek’s plans to increase home building.
“We will continue to see high demand until we can address all of these upstream issues,” she said. We are aware that the government has the authority to do that.
Food aid is in significant demand outside of the SNAP program. In 2024, Oregonians visited the 1,400 locations of the Oregon Food Bank network 2.5 million times, a 31% increase. Almost 100 million pounds of food were distributed.
— Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Ben Botkin
Established in 2021, The Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit news outlet that specializes in Oregon politics, government, and policy.
