LOCAL IMPACT OF CALFRESH
Hunger hurts us all:
- One in five Santa Barbara County kids lives in a household that can’t always put food on the table.
- Researchers call this “food insecurity," and have linked it to physical and mental health problems, and reduced performance at school and work.
- CalFresh provides eligible low-income households with monthly benefits on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that works like a debit card to buy food at participating supermarkets, convenience stores, and farmers markets.
- CalFresh serves about 20,000 households in our County. The majority of recipients are children, working adults, disabled, or elderly.
- The amount of benefits depends on factors such as household size, income and expenses. An average CalFresh one-person household has an income of 40% of the poverty level and receives $157 a month in benefits.
- CalFresh makes a difference. Researchers have linked the program to reductions in hunger, child poverty, and health problems; and improvements in high school graduation rates and lifetime earnings.
- CalFresh boosts the local economy. Benefits are spent at local grocery stores and farmer’s markets, generating $1.79 in local economic activity for every dollar of benefits. The federal government pays 100% of the benefits.
LATEST CALFRESH NEWS
CalFresh SSI expansion
- Historic news! Effective June 1, 2019, California recipients of SSI/SSP may be eligible for CalFresh food aid.
- For more information, see this flyer (2-sided, English & Spanish).
New CalFresh websites
- There's a new statewide public website about CalFresh food aid: CalFreshFood.org. It only has content about the SSI expansion for now, but we expect more content will be added over time.
- There's a new statewide public website for the CalFresh nutrition education program: CalFreshHealthyLiving.org. It features fast, healthy, affordable recipes for foods and beverages.
New CalFresh branding
- The state has refreshed the CalFresh logo and applied it ot the full range of services and activities related to CalFresh (including food aid, nutrition education, jobs/training, and disaster response).
- We are gradually rolling out the new look (that's the new CalFresh food aid logo above).
Market Match
- Many Farmers Markets in our County accept the CalFresh EBT card—and offer the Market Match program that can double the value of CalFresh benefits spent there (up to $10 a day).
- See this printable brochure for more information, including a list of participating markets. (The South County markets and Solvang participate; the North County markets and Lompoc do not.)
