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Something for Everyone: Your Role in Increasing

CalFresh Access and ParticipationAlexis Fernández, MSWNutrition Policy Advocate

California Food Policy Advocates

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• Introduction to CFPA & Our Work• Why CalFresh Matters

– The CalFresh Facts– CalFresh, Hunger & Food Insecurity– CalFresh & Income Support– CalFresh and Nutritional Quality

• The Big Picture• What You Can Do• Q&A

Today’s Discussion

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CFPA is a statewide policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of low-income Californians by increasing

their access to nutritious, affordable food.

Visit www.cfpa.net for more info.

Who We Are and What We Do

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• CalFresh/SNAP• National School Lunch Program (NSLP)• School Breakfast Program (SBP)• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)• Afterschool and Summer Nutrition• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)And more!

Focus on the Federal Nutrition Programs

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• Scale, scope, and reach– 4+ million Californians receive CalFresh; just under 4 million

more are eligible and do not participate– 2+ million low-income students participate in the school lunch

program• Entitlement programs reach those most in need

– Benefits must be provided to all eligible applicants – Eligibility is based on income

• Strengthen the social safety-net by preventing food insecurity, ensuring sound nutrition and promoting over health and well-being

Why the Federal Nutrition Programs

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• The overall health and well-being of your community is protected when we ensure that all individuals and families have access to healthy, affordable food.

• The federal nutrition programs can be essential tools in building a healthy, productive community. CalFresh plays a supporting role in the quality of community life and an economy that provides opportunities for all.

• Maximum utilization results in maximum impact.

Less CalFresh, Means Less for Everyone.

Why CalFresh Matters

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In 2013 California’s CalFresh caseload has grown to provide benefits to more than 4 million Californians.

The CalFresh Facts: Caseload

In January of 2013, over 28,311 individuals received

CalFresh benefits in San Mateo County

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• California’s CalFresh participation is the lowest in the country; we only reach 55% of eligible Californians.

• This results in a significant loss of federal dollars that could benefit both low-income families via direct nutrition assistance and local economies via related economic activity. – If we increased participation to 100%, California would receive an

estimated $4.7 billion in additional federal nutrition benefits. These benefits would generate $8.3 billion in additional economic activity.

– If we increased CalFresh participation in San Mateo County to 100% we could bring in $49 million in benefits for local residents and nearly $89 million in additional economic activity.

The CalFresh Facts: Participation

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Average monthly CalFresh benefit: $149.05– About $1.60 to $1.66 per meal

The households:94% have income below the FPL36% have income from earnings 38% have more than two people; 39% are single adults 62% include children; 5% include seniors

The CalFresh Facts: Characteristics

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• 3.8 low-income adults in California were food insecure during the most recent economic downturn.– 1 in 6 Californians had very low food insecurity; double the number from

2001. • 41,000 adults in San Mateo County were food insecure during this same

period.

• Nearly half of low-income households with children could not afford sufficient food, and approximately 51 percent of Spanish-speaking, low-income adults experienced food insecurity — the highest level of food insecurity among all low-income groups.

• Food insecurity increased in most California counties between 2007 and 2009. Northern Bay Area counties experienced a 14 percent increase, and in Southern California counties other than Los Angeles, there was a 10 percent increase.

CalFresh, Hunger & Food Insecurity

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CalFresh & Income Support

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CalFresh & Income Support

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CalFresh & Income Support

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CalFresh & Nutritional Quality

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• CalFresh can’t do it alone!– School breakfast and lunch

• 67% of eligible low-income children in San Mateo County participate in NSLP

• Only 36% of eligible children participate in school breakfast • This low participation rate translates to $7,233,650 in untapped federal meal

reimbursements for the county– Child & adult care food program– Women’s, Infants, and Children (WIC)– Emergency food providers

• Nutrition benefits work better together. • Combined with CalFresh, the benefits you provide make it more

likely that individuals and families have consistent access to nutritious, affordable food.

A Note On Other Nutrition Benefits

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• It’s in the best interest of our communities to ensure all members are able to lead healthy, productive lives.

• Hunger, food insecurity, and poverty negatively impact the overall health and well-being of our entire community.

• CalFresh plays a significant role in reducing hunger and food insecurity, providing income support, and improving access to healthy, affordable food.

• California has a lot of room to improve when it comes to CalFresh participation; we can all do something to assist in this effort.

The Big Picture

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SHFB is….• Expanding their commitment to CalFresh• Able to support your CalFresh role• Growing their application assistor & outreach team – hosting application

assistors at your site• Engaging local decision and policy makers• Working with a statewide network of advocates

CFPA is…• Continuing our advocacy efforts to ensure that every community across the

state has simple, straightforward, and consistent access to CalFresh.• Focusing on improved customer service so that applying is less

burdensome for Californians.• Promoting the critical role that nutrition plays in supporting overall health

and well-being.

What We’re Doing to Help

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Improvements in your county reflect statewide efforts to improve access to CalFresh. Including significant policy changes to remove the finger imaging requirement and move to semi-annual reporting.

Taking steps to improve program access in San Mateo• Out-stationed workers in the community• Ability to apply online• Undergoing business process reengineering efforts • Document imaging• Partnering with CBO’s to conduct outreach activities • And more…

What San Mateo County is doing to help

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What You Can Do to Help

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What Will You Do?

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Alexis Fernandez, MSWNutrition Policy Advocate

California Food Policy AdvocatesEmail: alexis@cfpa.net

Phone: 510.433.1122 x111Website: www.cfpa.net

Contact Information