College Students Learn About an Important Food Resource
Feeding San Diego & Mesa College Give a Primer on CalFresh
Between the rising cost of tuition, paying for books, housing, transportation, utilities, phones, and more, affording food is often the first place students make budget cuts. It’s become cliché that students subsist on ramen, but it’s a topic that can’t be ignored or joked away any longer: college students are facing hunger at an alarming rate.
A 2016 HOPE Lab survey of 33,000 students at 70 community colleges found that 56% of students experienced high or very high food insecurity, 51% were housing insecure, and 14% were homeless.
The sad fact is that too many students don’t realize they may be eligible for CalFresh, also known as SNAP and “food stamps.” Feeding San Diego staff help students sign up for this important federally-funded hunger-relief program. Last week, Feeding San Diego and San Diego Mesa College held their first ever CalFresh enrollment event to introduce CalFresh to the Mesa student body.
What is Calfresh?
CalFresh is a nutrition assistance program to help low-income families and individuals buy healthy foods. Eligible recipients receive an EBT card, similar to a debit card, that can be used to purchase food at the grocery store and participating farmers markets.
Throughout the day, students poured into the Student Services Center on campus to learn about and apply for CalFresh nutrition assistance. Staff members from Feeding San Diego and from CalFresh were on hand to walk students through the forms and make the application process easier.
“CalFresh is such an important program for students here in San Diego and across the state,” said Vince Hall, CEO of Feeding San Diego. “Between attending classes and managing the high cost of living, it’s becoming more and more difficult for college students to afford food. CalFresh provides an additional resource for students to purchase the food they need so they are empowered to learn.” Hall noted that last year, Feeding San Diego helped San Diegans access more than 700,000 meals through the CalFresh program.
Feeding San Diego will also be hosting future CalFresh enrollment sessions at the following locations:
- Pacific Beach United Methodist
Wednesday, September 19th, 3-7pm
- San Diego City College
Wednesday, September 26th, 11am-4:30pm
*To find out of you are eligible for CalFresh you can click here and fill out the “Am I Eligible” form. A member of the Feeding San Diego team will reach out to assist you.
