- Author: Diane Villalba
CalFresh is a state funded program that provides benefits to low-income state residents in buying groceries every month. People that benefit from this program are eligible to receive up to $192 per month for groceries. There are efforts at UC Santa Cruz, as well as at other universities across the state, to utilize the program as a long-term solution for food insecurity experienced by students, in addition to short-term solutions such as food pantries.
Unfortunately, CalFresh is not as well known among the student population and there are students unaware that they are likely eligible for the program. Students that meet eligibility requirements such as, having work-study eligibility, Cal Grants A or B, have children, or are affiliated with EOP/EOPS or AB12/AB212 program will likely be approved for CalFresh.
In order to help alleviate food insecurity at the UCSC campus, there is a team of CalFresh Ambassadors, consisting of undergraduate students, who are working towards spreading awareness of the program and directly assisting students during the application process. There are currently bimonthly CalFresh informational sessions being held on campus for students, as well as individual appointments with a CalFresh Ambassador that can be scheduled by contacting calfresh@ucsc.edu or deanofstudents@ucsc.edu. Alternatively, students can apply directly at students.getcalfresh.org and visit our Facebook page, UCSC Food for All, to stay up to date on upcoming events.
To learn more about CalFresh resources on your campus:
UC Berkeley: http://basicneeds.berkeley.edu/calfresh-clinic/
UC Davis: https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/services/nutrition-services/food-resources-around-davis-ca
UC Irvine: http://www.basicneeds.uci.edu/get-calfresh/calfresh.php
UC Los Angeles: https://www.financialwellness.ucla.edu/Resources/Food-Security-Resources
UC Merced: https://heroes.ucmerced.edu/calfresh-outreach
UC Riverside: http://basicneeds.ucr.edu/calfresh/
UC Santa Barbara: http://food.ucsb.edu/resources/financial/calfresh
UC Santa Cruz: https://basicneeds.ucsc.edu/campus-resources%20/CalFresh.html
UC San Diego: http://basicneeds.ucsd.edu/programs/
UC San Francisco: https://finaid.ucsf.edu/types-of-aid/housing-food-and-transportation/food