San Diego Hunger Coalition is Part of a Strong San Diego County Contingent at the 2018 CalFresh Forum

The San Diego County contingent at the 2018 CalFresh Forum. 

Our CalFresh Team, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, and members of our CalFresh Task Force descended on our state’s capitol to advocate for policies that support CalFresh (known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP at the federal level and formerly known as food stamps) and engage with other CalFresh providers at this year’s California Food Policy Advocate’s (CFPA) CalFresh Forum and CalFresh Peer-to-Peer.

Each year, the CalFresh Forum brings together hundreds of key stakeholders from across the state to identify opportunities and discuss strategies to improve the reach and impact of this vital food assistance program and hear directly from state and federal leaders regarding the current state of CalFresh and how to ensure the program continues to be available for those who need it.

San Diego County was well represented at this year’s forum. Albert Garcia, CalFresh Program Manager for the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency presented on opportunities to connect Medi-Cal recipients to CalFresh benefits in our region. Ismael Lopez, CalFresh Community Liaison for the County of San Diego Health and Human Services won the forum’s “Freshy” award for CalFresh Outreach Leader of the Year Award!  Members of our CalFresh Task Force also in attendance were Feeding San Diego, Heaven’s Windows, Neighborhood Healthcare, 2-1-1 San Diego, San Ysidro Health Center, San Diego Food Bank, La Maestra Community Health Centers, Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, and Alliance for African Assistance.

Additional highlights from this year’s CalFresh Forum include dynamic presentations on how to protect and strengthen CalFresh given by Kim McCoy Wade, Chief, CalFresh Branch for the California Department of Social Services, Secretary Karen Ross of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Ed Bolen, Senior Policy Analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

CalFresh application assistance agencies also met the day prior to share best practices and strategies for outreach with fellow case managers across the state as a part of the CalFresh Peer-to-Peer Forum, hosted by the California Association of Food Banks.  At this statewide meeting, partners gained new perspectives on CalFresh college student outreach, Disaster CalFresh, and ways to talk to clients about potential changes to eligibility and time limits for childless adults (also known as Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents or ABAWDs). The San Diego Hunger Coalition, Feeding San Diego and San Diego Food Bank served on the planning committee for this event.

California Assemblymember Todd Gloria with San Diego Hunger Coalition Senior Director of CalFresh and Advocacy Amanda Schultz Brochu. 

While in Sacramento, our Senior Director of CalFresh and Advocacy Amanda Schultz Brochu took the opportunity to meet with Assemblymember Todd Gloria and staff members from six other California Assemblymember’s offices. She discussed food insecurity in San Diego County and AB 3033, a State Assembly bill authored by Assemblymember Brain Maienschein and co-sponsored by the San Diego Hunger Coalition and the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations that would make it easier for people applying for Medi-Cal using Covered California to apply for CalFresh at the same time.

Oceanside kicks-off FREE Summer Meals & Feeds Hundreds of People With Two Community BBQs

Oceanside Deputy Mayor Chuck Lowery fills out a paper plate urging state representatives to adopt anti-hunger policies.

Hunger doesn’t take a vacation when school meals aren’t available leaving many low-income children to go without regular meals when school lets out for the summer. Summer meals help fill this gap and keep children fed all year long. The City of Oceanside and Oceanside Unified School District kicked off their free summer meals program with two family-friendly barbecue events organized by the San Diego Hunger Coalition. Thanks to these events, which featured a resource fair and fun activities for the children, many families learned about the summer meal program for the first time.  More than 500 meals were distributed to low-income families at each event. 

The barbecues took place on Thursday, June 22nd at Balderrama Park and Thursday, June 29th at Libby Lake Park and were part of a collaborative effort to expand participation at existing out-of-school meal sites and launch new sites in the city funded by a grant written by the San Diego Hunger Coalition with the City of Oceanside resulting in a $20,000 award from the National League of Cities, Combating Hunger through Afterschool and Summer Meal Programs (CHAMPS). A sponsorship from Mission Federal Credit Union helped to feed the parents and adult siblings of the children in attendance so that everyone could enjoy the grilled organic chicken as well as the fresh squash and corn from the Oceanside Unified School District's Nutrition Services garden. Additionally, Feeding San Diego and the San Diego Food Bank handed out bags of fresh produce for families to take home.

The event brought families together from different neighborhoods, many crossing through gang-territory to attend. The City of Oceanside has been working to reclaim the parks as spaces for community building in areas that have struggled with gang activity. The threat of violence at these spaces often keeps families from attending summer meal programs.

In addition to food and fun, the barbecues offered families the opportunity to make their voice heard and support anti-hunger policies. San Diego Hunger Coalition provided paper plates with questions about hunger including: “What would happen if your CalFresh benefits were cut?” and “What would you like your elected officials to know about hunger?” The Hunger Coalition collects these paper plate messages at summer meal sites and mails them to San Diego’s representatives to help advocate for federal and state anti-hunger policies that affect local families.

There are more than 220 FREE summer meal sites in San Diego County. To find a summer meal site near you text ‘FOOD’ or ‘COMIDA’ to 877-877 or call 2-1-1. No registration or sign-up is required.

Congrats to Marcia & all of this year’s “Freshy” Award Nominees!

San Diego Hunger Coalition CalFresh Outreach Coordinator Marcia Garcia

At this year’s California Food Policy Advocate’s CalFresh Forum, our very own CalFresh Outreach Coordinator Marcia Garcia was part of prestigious group recognized for their outreach to expand and improve the CalFresh program in their communities. She was among the leaders nominated for the conference’s “Freshy” awards in the category of Innovative Outreach Leader of the Year. Partners are encouraged to nominate and vote for each other. The awards also recognize outstanding program administrators, grassroots mobilizers, and improvements in CalFresh utilization rates by individual counties.

Marcia has worked with the San Diego Hunger Coalition to increase access to CalFresh for the past two years. During that time, she has demonstrated herself to be a leader in providing technical assistance and guidance to both clients and partners in navigating the complex CalFresh regulations and eligibility guidelines. She has served as a facilitator for Benchmark Institute’s FAST training and has developed countless outreach materials to spread the word about important program changes affecting San Diego County. Marcia regularly goes the extra mile to make applying for CalFresh easier. Her commitment to the CalFresh community and those served by the San Diego Hunger Coalition’s work can be heard every day as she brings levity to challenging conversations.

Marcia was among 10 experts nominated for the Innovative Outreach Leader of the Year. Also amongst those nominated was San Diego’s Juliana Vega, CalFresh Outreach Coordinator at our partner the San Diego Food Bank. The Freshy was awarded to Elizabeth Gomez, Associate Director of Client Services for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. While there could only be one winner this year, we are so proud Marcia was recognized for her great work to end hunger in San Diego County. The communities of all of the nominees benefit directly from their contributions.