SAN DIEGO – An estimated 33 percent of San Diego County’s food-insecure households are eligible for, but not enrolled in, CalFresh, an effective anti-hunger program that supplements a household’s food budget. San Diego Hunger Coalition, an organization working to ensure that no one in San Diego County has to go to bed hungry, welcomes the statewide CalFresh Awareness Month campaign to bring attention to the need for increased CalFresh enrollment in San Diego County.CalFresh is the most effective, wide reaching strategy available for bringing food to the plates of people struggling with hunger, according to the Hunger Coalition. On average, households in San Diego County that receive CalFresh benefits are enrolled for just under two years before achieving food security.
“CalFresh is our strongest antidote to hunger,” says San Diego Hunger Coalition Executive Director Anahid Brakke. “It offers families fallen on tough times the food they need to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.”
To improve access to CalFresh, San Diego Hunger Coalition runs the CalFresh Task Force, a group of over 50 organizations working together to improve enrollment systems. Countywide enrollment rates have increased in recent years thanks to accomplishments such as:
- A separate County phone line specifically for community-based organizations that help people apply for benefits like CalFresh.
- Upgraded technology including video conferencing that allows many people to enroll in CalFresh without stepping foot in a County office.
- Same day service that helps homeless individuals complete applications in four hours instead of up to four weeks.
Unfortunately, says Brakke, lack of awareness, misinformation, remaining complications in the application process and social stigma still prevent thousands of eligible families struggling with hunger from successfully enrolling in CalFresh. While San Diego County’s enrollment rates have improved significantly in the past fifteen years, the 67 percent eligible enrollment rate falls far behind the 80-90 percent enrollment rates in areas like Detroit and New York City.
“CalFresh Awareness Month is an opportunity to learn and help dispel the myths that keep eligible families from getting help,” says San Diego Hunger Coalition CalFresh Outreach Director Amanda Shultz. “With open discussion this month, we can help more people access the food they need to lead active, healthy lives.”
To learn more about CalFresh, follow San Diego Hunger Coalition on Twitter and Facebook throughout the May and visit sdhunger.org/calfresh.
