New CalFresh rules vastly expand the pool of people eligible for food assistance in California

Once, an extra $10 a month on government assistance checks kept nearly half a million poor Californians from being eligible for the federal program that puts food on people’s tables in other parts of the country.

But starting June 1, changes in a state law that dates back to 1974 will allow California recipients of Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, to also get CalFresh food benefits.

The California Department of Social Services estimates at least 500,000 recipients of SSI will become newly eligible for CalFresh next month. The majority of those people are adults 60 and older.

State officials and advocates who work with senior citizens say the expansion of CalFresh benefits will become a crucial safety net for people in the fastest growing segment of California’s population.

National estimates suggest up to half of all older Americans are vulnerable to malnutrition. Many face a literally gut-wrenching choice every month, of buying food or paying other bills, such as rent, healthcare and utilities.

The new CalFresh benefits could average up to $110 a month, an amount that could be life changing for older adults on SSI.

“To people living so close to the edge, it’s really going to make a difference in their health and well being,” said Kim McCoy Wade, chief of the CalFresh and Nutrition Branch at the state Department of Social Services.

CalFresh benefits also can add variety to user’s diets, providing more options than what typically is available in the donated products given out at food banks — a source of nutrition that’s used by a growing number of seniors, said McCoy Wade, who once served as head of the California Association of Food Banks.

“Older adults say they can’t get what they need.”

Changing minds

Supplemental Security Income is a monthly cash grant to qualified low-income individuals. While it is administered by the Social Security Administration, it is separate from the income of Social Security that is based on wages earned prior to retirement.

In addition to senior citizens, SSI also provides support to people who are blind and to adults and children with disabilities who have little to no income and few other resources.

But several factors figure to make it tricky to get people who are newly eligible for CalFresh to actually collect that benefit.

Advocates, including some who have spent the better part of a decade persuading lawmakers to revise the 45-year-old state policy on food assistance, say it’ll be a challenge to get seniors to fill out CalFresh paperwork.

“They’re going to be very reluctant,” said Darla Olson, vice president, advancement, at SeniorServ, an organization that provides hot lunches at 23 senior centers in north and central Orange County and oversees delivery of Meals on Wheels to 1,089 people at their homes.

Online sign-ups have already started. And face-to-face outreach — offering older adults help in filling out the paperwork — is expected to begin next month at some senior centers, apartment complexes, food banks and other places that serve older.

But beyond the inconvenience of filling out forms, many see another hurdle — shame.

Many older people won’t willingly accept what they consider to be a handout, advocates say. Other seniors believe — falsely — that if they accept assistance there won’t be money left for someone else in need, such as a struggling young family.

“It won’t be enough to hold these (paperwork-assistance) events,” Olson said. “It’s going to take education, and some seniors already getting CalFresh who can be that champion and say, ‘It’s OK.’”

California an outlier

California had been the only state in the nation left with a so-called “cash-out” policy, which barred people who get SSI income from also being eligible for the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in California as CalFresh.

Back in 1974, that extra $10 a month that was issued in California in lieu of what was then known as food stamps seemed like an equitable offset. Not so much in today’s world.

Had that extra SSI cash been adjusted for inflation over the years, it would be worth about $51 a month now.

“The $10 never increased with inflation,” said Stephanie Nishio, director of programs for the California Association of Food Banks, which was part of a coalition that has advocated for the SSI policy change since 2015.

“It’s 2019, and they’re still getting the $10,” Nishio said.

In California, 1.3 million residents are currently enrolled in SSI.

Los Angeles County has the most potential SSI recipients, with about 173,000 people estimated to be eligible for CalFresh benefits, based on conservative September 2018 figures in a state report.

On average, current CalFresh recipients get $130 a month on their “Golden State Advantage” debit cards to purchase groceries at stores or farmers markets. In 10 counties around the state, the electronic benefit transfer cards also can be used to buy prepared meals at some food establishments in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, among others.

Depending on size of household, income and expenses, the CalFresh benefit for the new SSI participants will range from $15 to $192 per month. With few exceptions, SSI recipients must apply for the CalFresh food assistance.

For those who fear a loss in their SSI income if they start getting CalFresh benefits, the California Department of Social Services issued a reassurance earlier this month. A May 3 news release quoted the department’s Acting Director Pat Leary: “It’s very important to know: Applying for CalFresh will not change your SSI eligibility or benefit amount in any way.”

Starving seniors

The growing prevalence of food insecurity — lack of access to a sufficient amount of affordable and nutritious food — worries people who work with senior citizens.

It’s especially alarming in a place like Orange County, where people 65 and older represent the only growing segment of the county’s population.

A report on troubling issues facing older adults released last month by a countywide initiative called the Orange County Strategic Plan for Aging cited the findings of a 2017 California Health Interview Survey that found nearly one-third of low-income adults in Orange County were food insecure.

But according to the report, less than 3 percent of those older adults were enrolled in CalFresh.

Who is missing out? People like the 75-year-old man who met with Lisa Gibson, dietician and nutrition expert with Age Well Senior Services in South Orange County, at a senior center food program in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Of the $800 a month the man lives on, $650 goes to rent, Gibson said. So he relies on the senior center for help with food. But when Gibson asked if he ever thought about enrolling in CalFresh, he said he didn’t know about it.

“The more we can let them know about all the resources out there, the better,” Gibson said.

A concerted effort has been underway in Orange County to expand food resources to older adults. Many have no easy transportation.

Those efforts include Second Harvest Food Bank’s mobile “Park-It Markets” that bring fresh foods to more than a dozen sites where seniors live or congregate. The Orange County Food Bank’s monthly distribution of nutritionally balanced food boxes to more than 24,000 seniors  and the Senior Grocery Programs at 40 locations.

Last summer, a half-dozen nonprofits formed the Orange County CalFresh Collaborative to streamline the application process for seniors and direct them to one place, 2-1-1 OC, to call for information. That group is ready to engage in expanded outreach to SSI recipients.

“The seniors have been hearing for years if you have SSI you won’t qualify for CalFresh,” said Ellie Nedry, community programs manager at Second Harvest.

“That’s why it’s so important to try to make sure everyone is on the same page and aware of the changes.”

How to Apply

SSI recipients can sign up for CalFresh benefits in three ways.

Online: Go to GetCalFresh.org.

By phone: Call 877-847-3663 for help available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Cantonese, and Russian.

Walk in: Visit a local CalFresh office. Locations can be found on an interactive map at CalFreshFood.org.

Source: California Department of Social Services