San Diego Hunger Coalition has been fighting hunger for 45 years. We realized very early the only way we can end hunger is if we all work together. That’s why we’re grateful to live in California, a state that has our backs. In the last year, California has passed game-changing legislation that is empowering our communities to fight hunger using the best, most successful hunger relief program in the world: SNAP/CalFresh.

In June 2019, California removed restrictions blocking Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients from getting CalFresh. Rules were put in place back in the 1970’s that prevented these people from using the food stamp program, but SSI failed to keep pace with the cost of living as the decades passed. Lifting this restriction was a tremendous change that has allowed thousands of Californians to improve their health by buying enough to eat using CalFresh. This rule change has positively affected seniors who make up a large portion of SSI recipients.

There are still a lot of questions around what it means for someone receiving SSI to sign up for CalFresh and we’re here to help! Check out our resource page at sdhunger.org/ssi.

More recently, California passed a law that would make it easier for people to deduct their cost of housing (i.e. rent or mortgage) from their income when applying for CalFresh, also known as a shelter deduction. In short, this means that, if approved, people may be able to get more money for groceries to offset California’s high cost of housing.

Before this law was passed, for you to deduct your rent or mortgage, you had to provide some sort of documented proof. This might take the form of a mortgage statement or a letter from your landlord. Quite often, this bureaucratic step prevented housing deductions from being made. Now, under the new law, a signed personal statement is all you need to deduct your housing costs. The result?

More approved housing deductions = more money for groceries = less hunger

For seniors who may not live in a traditional housing arrangement or reside in group homes, this has been a hugely positive change. Now, senior households that struggled to understand and meet CalFresh housing deduction requirements are able to get the food assistance they desperately need through increased CalFresh benefits that offset their cost of living.

In many cases this can be the difference between getting $16/month for groceries, or $130/month!

California has long been a champion of hunger relief programs that are proven to work. That’s why, in 2019, there were a total of 20 hunger-related bills of which 7 were signed by Governor Newsome. Thank you, California, for having our backs!