California has taken a big step forward in scaling up healthy food incentive programs: CalFresh participants can now get bonus dollars from their healthy food purchases electronically credited to their benefits card. That technological leap happened because of legislation SPUR co-sponsored. Now SPUR is working to overcome the remaining challenge to enlarging healthy food incentive programs: insufficient funding.

San Francisco’s office vacancy rate, one of the highest in the country, has dampened the city’s liveliness and economic prospects. Other cities are tackling the resilience challenges that office-centric downtowns face by reconsidering office building uses and creating incentives for redevelopment. San Francisco can take a page from their revitalization plans.

San José’s parks and open spaces are underfunded and falling into disuse. Realizing their potentially large economic and social dividends will take significant and sustainable funding mechanisms. Now more than ever, the city must study, assess, and develop long-term funding strategies with clear communication, intentionality, and creativity.

Recipients of CalFresh food assistance are about to take a big hit: emergency allotments authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire just as food costs are at historic highs. SPUR is working to make temporary food access programs permanent and has just launched a statewide project institutionalizing supplemental benefits by making them directly reimbursable to recipients’ EBT cards.

Public transit is an essential service for millions of Californians, yet as one-time federal COVID-19 relief funds dry up, many transit agencies are facing a fiscal crisis. The state’s largest and most fare-dependent operators could see severe service cuts and a spiraling decline. SPUR is leading a coalition urging the state to provide necessary funding to keep buses and trains running as agencies work to transition to a sustainable business model.