Santa Barbara County and UC Santa Barbara’s Basic Needs Office are intensifying their efforts to expand CalFresh enrollment in the local community.
“The CalFresh Program, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.), issues monthly electronic benefits that can be used to buy most foods at many markets and food stores,” according to the California Department of Social Services website. “The CalFresh Program helps to improve the health and well-being of qualified households and individuals by providing them a means to meet their nutritional needs.”
Participants receive an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that can be used at many markets and grocery stores, according to the UCSB Basic Needs website.
“The CalFresh program issues monthly electronic benefits on an EBT card, that is like a [debit] card, that can be used at most grocery stores and farmers markets! Those who are eligible can receive up to $291 per month for groceries! After you apply, you will receive a plastic electronic benefits card that is reloaded each month,” the website states.
In order to be eligible for CalFresh, UCSB student applicants must be 18 years of age or older. Additionally, they must be an American Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident or meet at least one portion of certain background criteria, including having refugee or asylum status or being a veteran of the United States military. The full list of criteria can be found on the Basic Needs website.
Furthermore, to be eligible, students must have either no meal plan or a meal plan of 11 meals or less. Students must also meet an income threshold. According to their website, Basic Needs strongly recommends that students speak with one of their advisors to determine if they meet the threshold as there are many possibilities for reductions based on expenses — including childcare and utilities — and since many types of income, including work study income, are exempt.
Students must also meet one of the following criteria: working at least 20 hours a week in paid employment, having a doctor’s note stating that they cannot work at least 20 hours per week due to disability, participating in or approved for Work Study, receiving a TANF funded CalGrant A or B, having a dependent under 12 years old or participating in a local program that increase employability (LPIE), according to the website.
Approved programs at UCSB that are categorized as an LPIE include the English for Multilingual Programs, Technology Management Program Undergraduate Certificate, Jobs and Career Skills Education Program and the Poverty, Inequality and Social Justice Minor. The full list of programs can be found on the Basic Needs website.
Many local stores — including The Arbor on campus, Target and Albertsons — accept CalFresh benefits, according to the website.
UCSB’s CalFresh and Basic Needs Communications Coordinator Daisy Basulto-Hernandez said in an email statement to the Nexus that Basic Needs offers assistance with all parts of the CalFresh process, including applications, recertifications and eligibility status reports.
“CalFresh assistance is provided by our CalFresh advocate and Basic Needs peer advisors, who are highly trained on CalFresh, other food resources, housing resources and other basic needs resources that are offered on and off campus,” Basulto-Hernandez said.
According to the Basic Needs website, an application to CalFresh takes around 45-60 minutes, and applicants should receive benefits within 30 days. Applicants may apply on their own, but Basic Needs recommends applicants apply with one of their free advocates.
“We are here to make the application easier, help interact with the Department of Social Services, keep your benefits, and connect you to other resources! Also, students who apply with an advocate have a 20% higher acceptance rate compared to those who apply on their own,” the Basic Needs website states.
Second District Supervisor of Santa Barbara County and Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors Laura Capps said in a Zoom interview with the Nexus that UCSB’s Basic Needs Office has played an important role in increasing the number of enrollments.
“10 years ago, we were at roughly 40% [eligible enrollment], so things have improved dramatically. In particular, we should talk about UCSB,” Capps said. “They've really upped the game when it comes to getting students and those involved in the in the campus enrolled, many of whom qualify but might not know that they do, because they're used to living at home, and now they're working while they go to school, and they qualify due to their income.”
According to Basulto-Hernandez, the Basic Needs communications team has worked to increase enrollment in CalFresh through a variety of marketing efforts, promotional campaigns, and partnerships.
These include promoting the program to its Listserv with over 10,000 recipients, social media marketing, announcements in classes, orientation presentations, tabling on-campus, partnering with faculty to integrate information about the Basic Needs services in course syllabi, partnering with UCSB’s financial aid and student affairs departments to embed CalFresh messaging into university communications, handing out promotional flyers throughout Isla Vista, maintaining billboards and sending letters to potentially eligible students.
As a result of these efforts, Basulto-Hernandez estimates that the Basic Needs communications team has reached 11,000 total people last year through presentations, events and tabling.
She added that the most common challenges that UCSB students face when applying to CalFresh are missed interviews, failure to meet student exemptions to the 20 hours per week (80 hours per month) employment requirement or ineligibility.
“There are over 60 exemptions, and so it can be hard to navigate on your own. We are in daily communication with the county about UCSB student cases to assist students in restoring their benefits, assisting in getting their application approved, rescheduling interviews, etc.,” Basulto-Hernandez said. “In some cases, students are eligible and just aren’t aware of it. We can look at the particular student’s case and help them determine if they are eligible.”
UCSB’s CalFresh Advocates have been working to create and expand these exemptions and provide support to students who may not be eligible for CalFresh, according to Basulto-Hernandez.
“The CalFresh advocates have worked hard to expand CalFresh student eligibility requirements in order to reach more unique students. We have secured 62 local programs that increase employability for CalFresh (student exemptions),” she said. “For students who are not eligible for CalFresh, our basic needs peer advisors are cross trained in alternative programs to meet their needs without CalFresh.”
During the 2023-24 fiscal year, the UCSB CalFresh team supported 4,094 students through the CalFresh application process, according to Basulto-Hernandez. She added that the CalFresh team has achieved seven times more successful registrations since the 2016-17 fiscal year, when they successfully registered 575 students.
“I was out there last year just to check things out, and while I was there, I must have been there for maybe 25 minutes. Six students were enrolled in CalFresh right in the UCen,” Supervisor Capps said.
The Food Security and Basic Needs Advising Center is located on the second floor of the University Center and is open Monday through Friday. (Source: UC Santa Barbara)
Basic Needs plans to continue building its partnership with the county, according to Basulto-Hernandez.
“The UCSB CalFresh team plans to further expand our relationship with the Department of Social Services in Santa Barbara County to address the barriers students face when applying for CalFresh such as missed interviews. Our hope is to shorten the gap for denials for the CalFresh program among students,” Basulto-Hernandez said.
She highlighted that the ability to purchase groceries at most stores has been invaluable for many students throughout their college experience.
“Students frequently share with us how valuable it has been to have a consistent support service that allows them to purchase groceries at most grocery stores and that for many is something they can use throughout their college experience,” Basulto-Hernandez said. “This program also allows them to have as many choices for their food as someone else visiting a traditional grocery store and to shop with their peers.”
According to Eleanor Gartner — district representative and communications director for Capps — in an email statement to the Nexus, on average, each recipient of CalFresh in the county overall receives about $200 in CalFresh benefits and has approximately $700 in income. As of June 2024, 55,998 Santa Barbara County individuals were enrolled in CalFresh, and approximately 60% of all Santa Barbara County CalFresh households consist of one person.
However, Capps said that the bureaucratic complexities of programs like CalFresh often prove difficult for individuals living in poverty, leading some to become unenrolled or unable to successfully navigate the system.
“To have this layer of bureaucracy that you have to adhere to, all for good reasons, [is] still very cumbersome. It makes it so that some people just give up or become unenrolled, or they aren't able to successfully be part of a program like CalFresh because it does take a level of meeting deadlines and turning in papers on time and getting it to the right place and sort of understanding a very complex system,” Capps said.
According to Capps, Santa Barbara County has made efforts to increase continued enrollment in CalFresh by having forms available at schools, churches and community centers. The county currently enrolls 71% of eligible CalFresh participants in the program, and its goal is to reach 100% enrollment.
Capps said that nearby states have high levels of S.N.A.P. enrollment, and the County is trying to learn from these states in order to improve its own CalFresh enrollments.
“I'm very motivated by looking at states like Oregon and Washington, right nearby. They have close to 100% enrollment, so what are they doing that we're not? What can we learn from them?” Capps said. “We're really trying to learn from other states, and it's not just the West Coast. I want to say Texas, I believe, is better than California, so there's something going on that we're not quite figuring out, but I know we're determined to figure out.”
She cited technology as one of the most common challenges residents face when applying to CalFresh, because applicants often need to have access to a computer or be technologically familiar to enroll in CalFresh. The county’s social services team has been working to overcome this issue by reducing potential language barriers and hiring people that can connect with applicants personally.
“Mixteco, for example, is a non-written language, so again, trying to hire the right people that actually can connect on a human level, as opposed to just administering it all through forms and technology,” Capps said. “That's what I'm really proud of our social services team for. They do a phenomenal job at trying to be as creative as possible to work within the system to make sure that we get to that 100% enrollment.”
To increase the number of CalFresh enrollments, Capps said that the county has recently hired 86 more staff members. As of August 2024, the county has 135 staff members who help with CalFresh eligibility and support with the application process, according to Gartner.
The county has also collaborated with local organizations, neighborhood clinics, schools and community groups to enhance CalFresh outreach and support.
Capps provided an example of how this “one stop shop” approach could benefit someone like a single mother: “She might learn about CalFresh, but she might also learn about getting free tax preparation, which will help her get tax credits back, so all of the benefits that she might be entitled to having to just go to one place or a neighborhood clinic.”
Capps emphasized that hunger, particularly among children, is a problem that can be solved but requires better distribution of food to those in need.
“Hunger, especially amongst kids, is a completely solvable problem. We definitely have enough food, especially in places like our county, which is 70% agricultural, yet the problem is getting that good food to the people that need it. So many kids every day, even today — the first day of school — go to school without the proper nutrition,” Capps said.
The collaborations between Santa Barbara County and local organizations, as well as between the county and UCSB, continue to work toward addressing the challenges of CalFresh enrollment and increasing the number of eligible recipients. By streamlining the application process and enhancing outreach efforts, these partnerships are aiming to ensure that more individuals in the community can access the benefits they qualify for.
If you need assistance with your CalFresh application or would like more information about CalFresh, please visit https://basicneeds.ucsb.edu/resources/food/calfresh or contact the UCSB Basic Needs Office at basicneeds@sa.ucsb.edu or 1-805-893-2786.
A version of this article appeared on p. 13 of the Aug. 29, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
