Job losses spur surge in filings for food stamps
Applications in the state soar from last year. In L.A. County they nearly double.
SACRAMENTO — With many Californians losing income and jobs, the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic has spurred a record surge in the number of applications for CalFresh, the state’s food stamp program, forcing operational changes to expedite help for those unable to put meals on the table.
The number of people applying for food assistance jumped to 55,624 in the third week of March, up from 34,882 during the same period last year, said Jason Montiel, a spokesman for the state Department of Social Services.
In Los Angeles County, the number of CalFresh applicants nearly doubled, from 9,060 in the third week of March 2019 to 17,532 during the same period this month.
“This is higher than anything we have ever seen,“said Tracey Patterson, senior director at Code for America, a nonprofit that partners with the state to sign people up for CalFresh.
Her group has seen a 350% increase in the number of people applying online at GetCalFresh.org with help from Code for America since the COVID-19 crisis began.
“Right now we are seeing a lot of folks who have never applied for anything before — folks who are bartenders, hairstylists, folks who make decent money but still live paycheck to paycheck,” Patterson said.
Holly Diaz has seen her hours at a Burger King in Sacramento cut to 30 a week from 40 because fewer people are patronizing the restaurant. Diaz, who has a 4-year-old child, said her husband was out of work.
“We are struggling to get by. We’ve been out of food for three days,” Diaz, 42, said tearfully.
Her family is expecting a temporary supplemental boost to their CalFresh benefit thanks to congressional action.
CalFresh is California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides $16 to $194 in federally funded benefits a month to low-income residents, older people and those on Supplemental Security Income, depending on their level of need.
The program served more than 4 million people statewide as of January, providing them with monthly benefits on an electronic benefit transfer card that can be used at many markets and food stores.
“CalFresh food benefits not only allow households to meet their nutrition needs and prevent food insecurity,” Montiel said, “but they also allow households to use other limited financial resources on basic needs, such as housing,”
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration sent $24 million to counties to help pay for the increased CalFresh workload. Newsom also issued an executive order last month to ease rules for those applying for social service programs, including CalFresh. The order suspends a requirement that the state periodically determine whether recipients remain eligible.
The state has also asked federal officials to waive a rule that prohibits CalFresh recipients from purchasing food online for delivery, pointing out that forcing people into stores could expose them to the virus and runs counter to Newsom’s stay-at-home order.