California families can't afford higher grocery bills!
Beginning as soon as next month, SB 54 — California’s 2022 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law — will begin imposing new compliance costs and fees on food manufacturers. Those costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers through higher prices at the grocery store, fewer product choices and reduced California manufacturing jobs.
For many food manufacturers, redesigning packaging is not a realistic option. Food safety requirements, product shelf life and specialized production equipment limit what packaging can be used. Businesses are left with an impossible choice: raise prices for consumers to pay for the millions of dollars in new compliance costs or reduce California operations and the jobs that depend on them.
Few industries illustrate these challenges more clearly than California's dairy processors.
California is the nation's leading dairy-producing state, supplying nutritious and affordable products to families across the country. But many dairy products rely on packaging that is essential for food safety, freshness, shelf stableness and product integrity. Milk bottling facilities would face multimillion-dollar investments to convert existing packaging systems to manage and reuse glass bottles, while many cheeses depend on flexible plastic films that currently have no commercially viable recyclable alternative. Under the current implementation timeline, these products could become increasingly difficult or even impossible to manufacture in California.
The financial impacts are substantial. Individual dairy processing facilities could face compliance costs reaching up to $15 million, threatening jobs, investment and the long-term competitiveness of one of California's signature agricultural industries. Those costs will not stop at the processing plant, they will ripple throughout the food supply chain and ultimately be reflected in higher grocery bills for California families.
Poverty section
While high grocery prices in Alaska and Hawaii can be explained by the need to ship food from the mainland, California’s high costs are more puzzling—especially considering it produces over half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. In addition to high fuel and energy costs, which increase food costs at every step in the supply chain from farm to grocery store several other factors drive food costs higher:
The Impact on Californians
As food prices surge, more Californians are struggling with food insecurity. Grocery prices have risen 28% in the past five years, a jump that matches the total increase from the 15 years before the pandemic. Grocery shopping has become a financial burden for millions.
Food insecurity is no longer just an issue for low-income households. Even middle-income earners—those earning $100,000-$150,000 per year—are increasingly relying on food banks. More than one in five Californians is food insecure and 27% of households with children struggle to put food on the table.
Food banks are now stretched to their limits, reporting record-high demand from working families who simply can’t keep up with rising costs.