- Author: Mike Hsu
Reduction of SNAP benefit deepens crisis of inflation, high cost of living, low wages
Starting this month, many of the estimated 3 million people in the CalFresh program – California's version of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) – will be facing hunger and making difficult decisions to meet their most basic needs. In late March, participants received the last of the pandemic-related emergency aid that significantly boosted their monthly benefits. The reduction varies by household size and income; for example, in April a single-person household could see a drop from $281 per month to $23.
“The emergency food allotments had a tremendous impact in our communities and across the nation,” said Shannon Klisch, academic coordinator for the Youth, Families and Communities Program for UC Cooperative Extension in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. “One study estimated that these allotments kept more than 4 million people out of poverty across the U.S. in the last quarter of 2021, and reduced child poverty by 14%.”
SNAP increases during the pandemic made many Californians more food-secure, with some participants reporting that their allotments finally had been enough to feed their families for the month, according to Wendi Gosliner, a project scientist at the Nutrition Policy Institute (a program of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources). But, with the benefit reductions, food insecurity is emerging again as a serious concern.
“It is inconceivable that a nation this wealthy should have so many people experiencing hunger,” Gosliner said. “And here in California, with the high cost of living, ongoing inflation and extreme income and wealth disparities, people are being forced to explore every possible avenue just to feed themselves and their families.”
To help ensure they are receiving the maximum allotment, Klisch recommends that CalFresh participants – especially those who applied during the pandemic and are relatively new to the program – double-check their information.
“If the county doesn't have your most up-to-date information, call your county worker if you've changed your address, if you've experienced decreased income, if your housing costs have gone up, or if you have new expenses – like child or dependent care expenses or medical expenses – these can help you qualify for more CalFresh funds,” she explained.
For families with school-aged children, Klisch said they can stretch their food dollars and promote healthy eating by encouraging their children to eat breakfast and lunch at school through California's universal free school meals, and all families with children under 18 can watch for the next issuance of the P-EBT (Pandemic EBT) card, worth potentially hundreds of dollars.
In addition to these options for food assistance, Klisch pointed to programs that can help people save money on other household expenses, such as California Alternate Rates for Energy Programs (CARE) and Affordable Connectivity Program. Local food banks are also gearing up across the state to handle an expected surge in clients in need of emergency food; a list of California food banks can be found at cafoodbanks.org/our-members.
“We ask a lot of low-income families and workers to navigate and piece together various programs, applications, and benefits when we don't commit to a strong safety net,” Klisch said. “On the other hand, when people have enough money for food, everyone benefits through decreased health care costs and increased economic activity.”
Gosliner also said that people should look into their eligibility for WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), as well as the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and CalEITC, poverty-alleviation benefits underused by Californians.
“People should make sure they are accessing all the safety net benefits for which they are eligible,” Gosliner said.
Market Match, other nutrition incentive programs can help
Through programs like Market Match, available at about 300 farmers markets across California affiliated with the Ecology Center, CalFresh participants can have their EBT benefits “matched” by their local market (usually up to $10 or $15 per visit).
“People are looking to get creative about how to stretch their food dollars, and Market Match is one way to do that,” said Klisch, who has led UCCE efforts to help promote the program along the Central Coast since 2017.
Striving to expand access to fresh fruit and vegetables and to support local farms, UCCE and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC worked with partners to increase CalFresh redemption at farmers markets in San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties.
In 2017, about $48,000 in CalFresh and Market Match benefits were redeemed at farmers markets in the area. In 2022, the total was more than $207,000 – a 327% increase. According to Ecology Center figures for the entire state, CalFresh and Market Match spending at farmers markets jumped 161% from 2019 to 2021, up to $13 million.
Gosliner, whose research has shown that these nutrition incentive programs are associated with increased food security, noted that “the people who use Market Match absolutely love the program and feel it is incredibly helpful.” She also added that the California Department of Social Services is developing a pilot program that would offer match incentives for purchasing fruits and vegetables at larger food retailers.
Although the biggest of its kind, Market Match is just one of the programs across California that provide “matches” for healthy food purchases under the California Nutrition Incentive Program, which in turn is primarily funded by GusNIP (the nationwide Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program).
GusNIP dollars – and SNAP overall – are governed by the federal Farm Bill, typically renewed every five years and currently being negotiated by Congress.
/h3>/h3>Hope to see you at one of these events happening this weekend, Saturday, March 18, 2023.
Modesto Farmers Market
Turlock Community Gardens Workshop-Plant Swap-Potluck Palooza
Turlock Community Gardens invites you to stop in for a visit or for the day, activities for all ages are happening.
UCCE Master Gardener Composting Basics Workshop 9:00am-10:30am
Learn about how to compost at home! Reduce your carbon footprint & recycle kitchen/garden scraps. This workshop is a great opportunity to hear from an expert and ask questions, plus one lucky person is going home with their own compost bin!
11:00am-11:30am
Let's share cuttings, rooted plants, extra gardening supplies, seeds and any tips and tricks to help out our fellow plant enthusiasts! We will be doing a round robin with wristbands. If you don't have anything to bring, you are still welcome to take items home. There is always more than enough to share, especially extra perlite!
Rock Painting Station
11:30am
Decorate a rock to take home or gift to the garden. Paint, brushes, and rocks will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own.
Turlock Community Potluck
12:00pm-2:00pm
Bring your favorite dish or just bring yourself! Enjoy a slice of pizza while exchanging tips/tricks. It's a great way to meet neighbors, network and have some fun.
As a reminder, TCG asks children to be always supervised and for everyone to be mindful not to disturb the garden beds. They are lovingly maintained by different families and groups.
Be sure to check out the Free Garden Items & Seed Exchange Cabinet and Free Little Library. (Take what you need, give what you can.)
Turlock Community Gardens and parking are located behind the Cornerstone Covenant Church (4501 Crowell Road) and the nonprofit, Jessica's House. If you have any questions about the Turlock Community Gardens event, email info@turlockcommunitygardens.org
Across California, CalFresh shoppers can use their EBT cards at most farmers markets and double the value of their benefit, up to $10 per family each market day.
“This benefit is underused,” said Chutima Ganthavorn, nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. “There may be a perception that farmers market prices are higher than in regular grocery stores.”
To help promote the Market Match program that makes shopping at farmers markets more affordable for CalFresh customers, Ganthavorn worked with the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources news and information outreach in Spanish office to develop videos in English and Spanish that clearly explain the program for potential users.
“Our program, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE, provides nutrition education to CalFresh-eligible participants in Coachella Valley to promote increasing consumption of locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables,” Ganthavorn said. “Increasing buying power at farmers markets helps participants incorporate delicious, local produce into affordable meals for the whole family.”
To use Market Match, CalFresh recipients visit a kiosk at the market and use their EBT card to purchase $10 in wooden tokens. The program provides an additional $10 in tokens for purchase of fruits and vegetables only. The $20 can then be used to purchase items at all the farmers' booths that day at the market. Shoppers can look up participating farmers markets by going to FMFinder.org.
“Wow! These (videos) are terrific,” said Megan Goehring, the manager of the Palm Springs farmers market. “Will share on social media today.”
Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers and Women, Infants and Children vouchers can also be used at participating farmers markets.
Below are the videos and their YouTube URLs for easy sharing:
Spanish -
English - https://youtu.be/dz6R_l123AE
/span>- Author: Shannon Klisch
- Author: Katherine E Soule
Across the United States, land use policies and institutional discrimination have had major implications for the production and distribution of our food and has shaped and continue to reinforce inequitable access to food and food production. As a result, today “white, non-Hispanic and male farmers own more land and generate more farm-related wealth than farmers of color, with Hispanic ethnicity, and females.” While the profit from food production has become concentrated in the hands of a few, typically white, male farm owners, there is evidence that farmworkers lack access to the very goods they labor to bring to market. Indeed, five of the eight lowest paying jobs in the U.S. are in our food system and nearly 75% of farmworkers earn less than $10,000 per year.
At the same time, the popularity and number of farmers markets across the U.S. has grown rapidly in the last decade from a total of 4,685 registered markets in 2008 to 8,687 in 2017. Farmers markets can enhance community health through access to fresh fruits and vegetables, increase social cohesion, and support local farmers and economies. Still there is evidence that not everyone has access to their local farmers markets or feels welcomed in these environments. In particular, low-income consumers and consumers from communities of color may be less likely to shop at farmers markets in some locations if they do not feel welcome due to cultural or language barriers.
There is potential for farmers markets to be spaces for increasing equitable access to local fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly in areas where residents do not have access to full-service grocery stores. One promising practice in increasing access to farmers markets among low-income shoppers is the acceptance of CalFresh (food stamps, EBT). In a few studies, researchers have noted that consumers report that acceptance of CalFresh benefits is a facilitating factor in their decision to shop at a farmers market and that the lack of ability to pay with their CalFresh card is a barrier.
In addition, incentives for low-income consumers have started to become more widely available to CalFresh beneficiaries that choose to shop at the local farmers market. In California, this program is most commonly referred to as Market Match. Market Match on a local level is administered by farmers markets and can double the amount of money CalFresh beneficiaries have to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at the participating farmers market.
While the purpose of these incentive programs is to increase access to fresh, local produce in low-income communities, the program is not always well-known or easily accessed by eligible consumers. Additionally, market managers often face large administrative burdens to offer the benefit to shoppers and, especially at smaller markets, may not see the economic benefit of the program for years.
Added to these challenges, the funding sources for incentive programs vary by farmers market, as do foods that can be purchased with the incentives, often leading to confusion for consumers and farmers, as well as increasing administrative burdens for market managers. For example, shoppers receive different types of tokens (one for CalFresh benefits and another for the Market Match) that can only be used on certain products. These differences can be confusing to consumers who need to navigate the programs' restrictions to determine which food items they can purchase. For example, can CalFresh tokens be used on bread? Or, can Market Match tokens only be used to purchase fruits or vegetables?
Even prior to utilizing these programs, many low-income California residents face difficulties applying for and obtaining CalFresh benefits (known nationally as SNAP). It is estimated that 1.7 million Californians are eligible for CalFresh but are not receiving benefits and California ranks among the bottom five states when it comes to reaching eligible individuals through SNAP. If CalFresh reached all eligible individuals, it is estimated that California would receive an additional $1.8 billion in federal dollars and generate an additional $3.3 billion in economic activity per year, not to mention the impact it would have on food security and health outcomes for families.
A limited body of knowledge has explored the barriers and facilitators of farmers market participation for low-income communities and communities of color. In San Luis Obispo County, we wonder what work needs to be done to create equitable spaces for consumers to enjoy our local bounties? To begin to explore answers to this question, we conducted focus groups among low-income, Spanish speaking residents living in the county. The participants told us that they were not aware that they could use CalFresh benefits at some of their nearby farmers markets and several had questions about market match and how to “double their money.” Overall, participants spoke positively about this as an option and mentioned that farmers markets were a draw for them because of the fresh, healthy food and the lack of all the other unhealthy options that are present in other grocery outlets. Barriers they mentioned included that there was “not enough” variety available at participating farmers markets to make it worth their time and, in particular, the variety of culturally relevant foods were limited.
Additionally, participants referenced other, further away markets that do not accept CalFresh but provide a more community-oriented and festive atmosphere where there is music and prepared foods as an example of a farmers market they would like to visit. Surprisingly, several participants shared that they regularly drive further than 10 miles to access foods at stores where they stocked quantities of familiar and cultural items at a reasonable price. This feedback from our community relates to prior research that explored the concept of food in a study with recent immigrants and refugees, which found that food is strongly related to culture and family and cannot be reduced to miles traveled or basic nutritional units.
CalFresh and Market Match acceptance at local farmers markets is an important step in increasing access to local, healthy foods, specifically among low-income community members. Systemic issues including inconsistent availability of farmers markets that accept CalFresh, barriers to obtaining CalFresh benefits in the first place, confusing and inconsistent rules and regulations about how to use certain benefits at a market, and lack of local investment in some community farmers markets to enhance their appeal to all community members continue to be some of the barriers to equitable access.
- Author: Lucy Diekmann
Silicon Valley's culture of innovation, diverse culinary traditions, fertile soils, and Mediterranean climate offer unique food system opportunities. In addition to large tech companies, these two counties are home to roughly 1300 farms with agricultural production valued at more than $450 million. Yet high land values make it difficult for farmers to find and keep land. The high cost of living also contributes to many families' struggle to put healthy food on the table. According to Second Harvest Food Bank, one in three children in Silicon Valley are food insecure. Many of those who are hungry are employed, but don't make enough to cover basic expenses in what has become the country's richest region as well as its most expensive.
Despite these challenges, this is an exciting time to work on food and agriculture in Silicon Valley. Santa Clara County is in the process of implementing the Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan to preserve agricultural lands and support a vibrant agricultural economy. The nonprofit organization SPUR is piloting a program to make California-grown produce more affordable for low-income families at grocery stores in San Jose and Gilroy. Civically engaged residents successfully advocated for Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones in the City of San Jose, creating new opportunities to put vacant land to productive use. The region's urban farms are involved in growing food for school cafeterias, developing a food entrepreneurship program, and educating students and the general public about food and agriculture, among many other activities.
Originally from Maine, I relocated to the Bay Area 15 years ago to pursue a PhD at UC Berkeley. For the past eight years, I've been working and raising my family in the South Bay. If you'd like to learn more about my work or Silicon Valley's food system, please be in touch. You can find me here: http://cesantaclara.ucanr.edu/Programs/contact/?facultyid=40005.