'It will really help': Salinas seniors, disabled hopeful as CalFresh food benefits open up

Eduardo Cuevas
The Californian
Vonda White, 64, plans to apply for the new CalFresh expansion announced by the California Department of Social Services.

Salinas resident Vonda White, 64, struggles with meals on a fixed income.

The vouchers she receives for farmers markets often leave her struggling to find food besides her normal beans and rice.

And the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payments (SSI/SSP) benefits she receives monthly aren't enough, she said.

"It's very difficult," she said. "Well, there's certain things I like to purchase, but the prices are so high."

Starting in June, though, Californians like White can get the CalFresh food assistance program, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides benefits to people each month.

Lettuce sits in a bin at the grocery store.

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Those receiving SSI/SSP – qualified for people over 65, blind or disabled – can apply for CalFresh online, by telephone or at their local Monterey County Department of Social Services office.

“It’s going to be an attribute if you get it, if you qualify for it,” White said.

White just mailed her application Wednesday and hopes to get the extra help.

Benefits are delivered on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) debit card and can provide, on average, between $105 and $110 per month for older adults and people with disabilities, according to a Monterey County social services press release. Credits are accepted at grocery stores, farmers markets and other approved CalFresh locations.

"We welcome the news that a person will collect on both," said Tamara McKee, director of programs for the Alliance on Aging. Her organization – which has provided senior services to Monterey County residents since 1970 – is already screening people for eligibility. "A lot of times, they're really living on such a tight fixed income." 

A 2018 state law expanded benefits to SSI/SSP holders commensurate June 1. Before, under the "cash-out" policy adopted by states in 1974, SSI/SSP recipients received $10 payments in lieu of federal food benefits.

A state legislative analysis found the cash-out negatively affected households dependent just on SSI/SSP in contrast to mixed households, those that had both SSI/SSP and non-beneficiary members, which varied.

Families file paperwork outside the Monterey County Department of Social Services in Salinas.

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CalFresh is the nation's largest nutrition assistance program, providing nearly 3.8 million Californians with food benefits each month.

About 45,000 Monterey County residents rely on CalFresh and more than $72 million is directly returned annually into the county's economy, according to the Nutrition Policy Institute. In total, over one in 10 residents use CalFresh monthly, per U.S. Census data.

As of March, over 8,000 Monterey County residents received SSI/SSP, administered by the federal Social Security Administration. The county social services department is hoping to meet a goal of 75% CalFresh enrollment to the program. 

“This is an example of the commitment and collaboration among public and private organizations to help ensure that the most vulnerable Californians have access to nutritious food,” said Henry Espinosa, acting director of the Monterey County Department of Social Services, in a prepared statement.

In this Friday, March 17, 2017, file photo, a sign advertises a program that allows food stamp recipients to use their EBT cards to shop at a farmer's market in Topsham, Maine. A proposal to curtail the nation’s food stamp program would pinch families struggling to pay for groceries and ripple through other areas of the economy, including supermarkets and discounters.

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Households that already receive CalFresh and currently have an excluded member receiving SSI/SSP resources do not need to contact the county Social Services. Officials will review these households for eligibility when they submit their next Semi-Annual Report (or SAR7) or complete their next CalFresh re-certification.

At the Salinas Interim, Inc.’s OMNI Resource Center, many clients should be eligible to receive CalFresh now, too, according to Sam Magaña, who has worked there at the peer and family-run mental health wellness provider for two years. The center plans to get a sign-up event for CalFresh on Monday.

Magaña, 28, currently gets SSI/SSP and used to get CalFresh, but working has meant he has had to balance hours and pay to meet benefits. Affording food and rent has been difficult.

“At a center where we deal with a lot of low-income, struggling people, it will really help,” Magaña said, adding for himself, “Now that I can apply for it again, I’ll definitely apply for the new thing that came up.”

How to apply:

Click: www.c4yourself.com or GetCalFresh.org to apply online.

Call: 1-866-323-1953; For speech and/or hearing assistance, call (831) 755-4867.

Come in: locate your local Monterey County office at www.mcdss.co.monterey.ca.us.

The CalFresh application process includes:

  1. Completing an application – on-line or in person.
  2. Requesting an application - by phone.
  3. Completing an interview – by phone or in person.
  4. Providing proof of income and expenses, if needed.

Contact reporter Eduardo Cuevas at ecuevas@thecalifornian.com or 831-269-9363. To support this kind of work, please subscribe.

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