Tagged With "Food"

CalFresh food benefits are available to individuals and families who have been impacted by COVID-19. CalFresh provides monthly food benefits based on household income and expenses at the time of application. Even if temporary, individuals and families who have experienced a change in their circumstances may apply for CalFresh through one of California’s 58 counties. Californian’s can visit GetCalFresh.org to apply or call 1-877-847-3663 (FOOD) to be connected to their local county social...

By Lulu Orozco, The New York Times, April 30, 2020 It was 5 p.m. on a recent Wednesday when Domitila Alvarez, 52, set down her cutting tools and walked from the broccoli fields to the crowded company bus taking the workers back to town. Ms. Alvarez did her best to protect herself before boarding. She wound a white bandanna tight over her face, leaving just a sliver for her eyes. She pulled on two pairs of gloves — a latex pair and then a cloth pair. “The truth is,” Ms. Alvarez said, “we all...

By Kim Newell, San Francisco Chronicle, December 17, 2019 As a pediatrician, I know that one of the most powerful tools for ensuring the health of my patients and of all our nation’s children is nutritious food. As such, school lunch in particular is vital, not only to their health but also to their learning capacity. The Trump administration has recently proposed changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Nearly a million students may lose automatic eligibility for...

By Manuela Tobias and Robert Rodriguez, Cal Matters, April 11, 2020 Last week, Isabel Solorio turned away five families from the Lanare food bank serving farmworkers in rural Fresno County. There just wasn’t enough food to feed the 215 families who showed up. It was twice the number of families that needed food a week earlier, she said. But that same week, on a farm just 20 minutes away, at least two fields of fresh lettuce were disced back into the ground, left to rot as the restaurants...

From California Department of Education, March 2020 California Department of Education’s (CDE) “CA Meals for Kids” mobile app has been updated to help students and families find meals during COVID-19-related emergency school closures. The CA Meals for Kids mobile application helps you find nearby California Afterschool and Summer Meal Programs Sites through your iOS, Android, or Microsoft devices. [ Please click here for more information and to download the app .]

By Bethany Clough, The Fresno Bee, April 2, 2020 Free food is always a good thing. Free food during the global coronavirus pandemic that has us a little anxious? Even better. Many restaurants are offering free food to healthcare workers during this time as a thank you (along with some businesses offering non-edible freebies). Other places have kids-eat-free deals. And some restaurants are doing special promotions – like a free giant cinnamon roll from The Train Depot restaurant – as an...

From Oakland Unified School District, March 16, 2020 During the COVID-19 closure, our Nutrition Services Department will open twelve schools throughout the city where “Grab and Go” breakfast and lunch meals will be available for all OUSD students or families and any Oakland child under 18. To ensure the least amount of contact, students do not need to be present to pick up food. The sites listed below will be open on Mondays and Thursdays from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Multiple days worth of food...

By Erica Hellerstein, Cal Matters, January 17, 2020 A new Alameda County program focused on the connections between poverty, food and employment opened Friday morning, the latest in a countywide effort to help low-income residents by increasing access to jobs and fresh produce. The newly built, 3,300-square-foot space will provide a commercial kitchen for small, home-based food entrepreneurs, land to grow fresh produce and a place to package leftover food retrieved from some local schools to...

By Manuela Tobias, Cal Matters, December 4, 2019 The Trump administration finalized a rule Wednesday that will cut off food stamps to roughly 688,000 American adults by requiring states to enforce work requirements. The U.S. Agriculture Department said the move will save about $5.5 billion over five years. The rule takes effect in April 2020. “This is about restoring the original intent of food stamps,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on a call to reporters. “Moving more able-bodied...

From California Department of Social Services, May 2020 Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school will get extra food benefits. These food benefits are called Pandemic EBT or P-EBT benefits. P-EBT benefits help families in California buy food when schools are closed because of the coronavirus emergency. Families will get up to $365 per eligible child on their P-EBT card to use on food and groceries. Families with children who get...

By Jackie Botts and Felicia Mello, Cal Matters, November 6, 2019 A college student in Fresno who struggles with hunger has applied for food stamps three times. Another student, who is homeless in Sacramento, has applied twice. Each time, they were denied. A 61-year-old in-home caretaker in Oakland was cut off from food stamps last year when her paperwork got lost. Out of work, she can’t afford groceries. While picking up a monthly box of free food, a 62-year-old senior in San Diego told...

By J.K. Dien, San Francisco Chronicle, March 18, 2020 Elvida Arriola showed up at Mission High School Wednesday morning with her daughter, Gloria, a junior at John O’Connell High School. At the school’s side door on Dolores Street, San Francisco Unified School District security guard Pesalili Havea was handing out grocery-sized brown paper bags full of food. A steady stream of families lined up to take them. “It’s free food,” said Havea, greeting the mother and daughter. “It takes a load off...

From California Volunteers, Office of the Governor, March 2020 DELIVER MEALS Vulnerable seniors are at greatest risk amid COVID-19. Let’s help keep them safe and cared for. Contact your local Meals on Wheels organization, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org . DONATE TO A SHELTER OR FOOD BANK During this time organizations are running low on food items, help them stay well stocked for those in need. See below for a list of shelters and food banks in need. VOLUNTEER AT A FOOD BANK Food banks...

By Natalie Hanson, Chico Enterprise-Record, January 16, 2020 At least 70% of Oroville’s high school students are considered socioeconomically-disadvantaged. In Chico, Between 400 and 500 children are categorized as housing insecure at any time during the Chico Unified School district’s school year. Across the county, thousands of students often rely on each district for help just to get to school and to get a meal. In these statistics a tragic side is seen in the Butte County homelessness...

By Chrisanna Mink, The Modesto Bee, January 4, 2020 Nancy Carranza, a third-year student at Modesto Junior College, is happy to give back to hungry families. She knows first-hand what it feels like to study with the distraction of a growling stomach. “Sometimes my mom skipped (meals),” Carranza said tearfully. “My mom planned out the month and made things work with food stamps.” [ Please click here to read more .]

By Caroline Danielson and Niu Gao, Public Policy Institute of California, May 28, 2020 Food insecurity—either concerns around having enough food or outright hunger— has increased sharply this spring. Nationally, among children age 12 and under, the rate is up 14 points—from about 3% in 2018 to 17% in April 2020. During California’s COVID-19 school closures, even large districts appear to be serving fewer free and low-cost meals than before the pandemic, while rural or small districts face...

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By Betty Marquez Rosales, EdSource, July 1, 2020 With reduced work hours and a baby on the way, Maraya Bermudez stocks up on groceries for the week at the food pantry on her community college campus. She frequented the Fullerton College food pantry sparingly during the school year, but she now goes every week to pick up bags that often include rice, beans, vegetables, fruits, milk and snacks. A former foster youth, she has also been eligible for debit cards from her college that she can use...

By John Carroll, KPBS, September 1, 2020 If you’re driving through the intersection of 30th and Lincoln in North Park, you might do a double take at a pop-up next to Hangers Cleaners. There sits an old refrigerator, painted mustard yellow, with shelves of dry goods and diapers next to it. A community fridge, to be more precise. "I just wanted to include it into my own community,” said North Park resident Annie Lein. After seeing community fridges in other cities like LA and Oakland, Lein...