CalFresh Pandemic Benefits End Next Month. What Does that Mean for Hunger in California?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 22 March 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

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Summary

More than 5 million Californians use the state program CalFresh to pay for their groceries. But come April, CalFresh users will see a drop of at least $95 each month with the end of CalFresh’s pandemic fund program. Recipients of these funds report that the extra money gave them the cushion to stop choosing from between going hungry and paying bills. Indeed, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, over 1.1 million Californians were kept out of poverty in 2021 because of these pandemic benefits. Now that they are coming to an end, participants in the program and advocates worry about how people will cope. We’ll talk about what the change in CalFresh funding means for hunger and poverty in the state and where to find additional food support and benefits. Related link: CalFresh resource guide Guests: Becky Silva, director of government relations, California Association of Food Banks Carly Severn, senior engagement editor, KQED News Caroline Danielson, senior research fellow, Public Policy Institute of CA - co-author of the yearly California Poverty Measure Report Jeanne Kuang, reporter, CalMatters Tom McSpedden, 69-year-old Citrus Heights resident with Type II diabetes who receives CalFresh benefits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Support for KQIWID podcasts comes from Rancho LaPuerta, a wellness resort 45 minutes from San Diego.
0:07.2	Summer packages of three, four, or seven nights include hiking, mindfulness, and culinary adventures with farm-fresh ingredients.
0:15.0	Rancho LePuerta.com.
0:16.9	Support for Forum comes from Broadway S.F. presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:24.4	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:30.8	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia.
0:34.8	When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable
0:40.2	test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. The riveting and gloriously hopeful parade
0:47.2	plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th. Tickets on sale now
0:54.0	at Broadwaysf.com.
0:57.7	From KQED in San Francisco, this is Forum. I'm Mina Kim. For the past three years,
1:20.4	millions of Californians have been able to get a lot more help buying groceries, but that
1:24.5	pandemic era food stamp increase is about to end. Come April, people who've
1:29.2	been getting more than $280 a month under CalFresh, California's version of the Federal SNAP program,
1:35.9	could see their monthly benefit drop to as low as $23. That could mean having to choose between
1:41.8	paying a bill or eating a meal.
1:47.5	Meantime, food banks are bracing for a spike in demand.
1:52.6	We look at the impact of CalFresh benefits dropping and where to find additional food support.
1:53.4	Join us. Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. Food banks across California are bracing for a spike in demand, as nearly 3 million households, or roughly 5 million people, will see a significant drop in their food stamp benefits in a matter of days. That's because
2:19.4	participants of CalFresh, California's version of the federally funded SNAP program, will lose
2:25.2	their pandemic era increase come April. All is part of the federal wind down of the national COVID
2:31.2	emergency. Do you participate in CalFresh or work to address hunger in California?
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