CORRECTION [3/4/2025, 10:00 p.m.]: A previous version of this article stated that there was a data breach which resulted in benefits being canceled by the county. It has since been corrected to clarify there was no data breach, but a message from the state department of social services that individuals in the county were at risk of having their information compromised, resulting in benefits being canceled.
Students have experienced delays in receiving CalFresh benefits over the last two months, often having to utilize extraneous methods to get their benefits without delays. Recertification has been especially tenuous compared to other years, students say.
CalFresh, or California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aids about 222,000 undergraduates across the UC to afford groceries. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
CalFresh, or California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.), aids about 222,000 undergraduates across the University of California (UC) to afford groceries. UC Santa Barbara has the highest participation rate in S.N.A.P. out of all UC campuses, according to fall 2019 data. Almost 3,000 students applied for benefits in the last year, out of 56,000 recipients in the entire Santa Barbara County (SBC), according to county data.
Skimming, when someone attaches illegitimate technology to card readers to copy Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) information, resulted in 700 cards being canceled in the month of January, SBC Public Information Officer Kelsey Buttitta told the Nexus. The state department of social services notified the county of potentially compromised benefits, and accounts suspected of being compromised were issued letters that their EBT cards were canceled in order to protect their benefits from being stolen.
While the county could not specify how many, some of these accounts included UCSB students who received letters from the county stating that their information was at risk of being compromised.
“I was feeling kind of disappointed, and it was just frustrating because I submitted my [Semi-Annual Report] (SAR) 7, I submitted all the forms and I have been receiving CalFresh for about a year now, so this just kind of felt like it came out of nowhere,” fourth-year history of art and architecture and anthropology double major Carly Lankarani said, who was notified that they missed their interview for recertification after they were supposed to receive their EBT card in January.
Applicants get an interview with the county after submitting their recertification forms. If they get a notice that their information was compromised, they have to call the county themselves to set up a recertification interview. Lankarani said they were upset that the responsibility fell on them after the county canceled their benefits because of a letter from the county that said their benefits may have been compromised.
Alongside account cancellations due to compromised benefits, many students reported issues in recertifying their benefits. CalFresh has a 12-month certification period, meaning that students must get reapproved for benefits before the Jan. 5 deadline each year.
The UCSB Food Security and Basic Needs Advising Center allows students to get a direct line to county social services through a county basic needs liaison, a process that can otherwise take several hours. When students miss their benefits interview, they are advised to contact their case worker. But because the wait times can take so long, students typically use an aid like Basic Needs to reach the county sooner, go in-person to the Santa Barbara office to talk with a worker directly or utilize another avenue to reach the county.
Students may have their EBT canceled for not completing their SAR 7, a form necessary for recertifying benefits for the year. They may also have their EBT canceled if they miss their interview time.
Distribution of new EBT cards with chips began in January, aiming to help prevent skimming scams.
“It is recommended for CalFresh recipients to pay for groceries using the chip rather than swiping at registers,” CalFresh and Basic Needs Communications Coordinator Daisy Basulto-Hernandez said in a statement to the Nexus.
A data breach occurred last year, fourth-year film and media studies major and former CalFresh Peer Advisor Arlene Garcia told the Nexus, which resulted in the county updating and restructuring the website.
“I had one case where it was over $1,000 that was stolen. The maximum, I think, that they were able to get [back from the county] was $600-$700. So the rest was stolen,” Garcia said of a breach last year.
Any unused benefits for EBT during a given month roll over to the next. If an EBT card is canceled, students have up to two months to file to get lost benefits back, but the return isn’t guaranteed.
“That was always unfortunate because even though it’s not their fault, they are still suffering from that. I remember working there, just being frustrated on their behalf, because it’s like, why can’t you just really provide those benefits back that were stolen because your website wasn’t properly secured, and someone was able to hack into the website,” Garcia said.
Many students said that during this round of recertification, they submitted their forms on time and did not hear back from the county if they were not approved until after the deadline to get their card back in January.
“I actually did the recertification process by myself, and then it says you have nothing to do like you should be doing. And then for like, almost a month or two, I would look at the [website] say, your recertification has been submitted, [and is] waiting for review,” fourth-year economics major Jake Gassman said. “Nobody even ever looked at it. Never even got reviewed. So I didn’t get my benefits at the start of January.”
Due to the delay, Gassman said he had to either eat previously bought frozen food or get takeout for the first half of January. Other than tuition, Gassman pays for all of his expenses out-of-pocket.
Gassman said he’s had issues getting to the county before.
“Every time I have a problem, I can’t reach a caseworker, or things take forever to reach someone. Whenever I go to the benefits center, they’re always really good and help me out, like, almost immediately. But for the county themselves, not too good of an experience,” he said.
The process to get on the phone with a county social services worker can take several hours, students say.
“[Santa Barbara] County is very backed up in the sense that they don’t really have workers,” Garcia said. “So it is really frustrating for students when you know they need their benefits and then they can’t talk to someone, or no one responds to them.”
Students also reported unpleasant experiences with county workers, with some saying workers were rude and annoyed when they reached out. When the Nexus asked the county about worker behavior, they said the county values “treating everyone with civility, dignity and respect” and that students who don’t feel they are treated in accordance with these values can call the department and ask for a supervisor or contact their liaison via the campus Food Security and Basic Needs Advising Center.
“I can’t imagine how hard it might be for students who are working full-time or part-time jobs outside of school. They’re already, like, juggling 12 units and eight-hour shifts,” Lankarani said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the Feb. 27, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
