My 2019 California Fellowship project will be an in-depth examination of Californians that are experiencing food insecurity and the policies that perpetuate this pervasive problem. Contemporary poverty measuring methods like the California Poverty Measure, which was developed by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality and the Public Policy Institute of California, estimate that roughly 40 percent of the state’s population was poor or near poor in 2016. More recently, a UCLA study reported more than three-quarters of the state’s low-income senior population is in the same boat, with more than 28 percent experiencing a severe rent burden.ĭespite clear and overwhelming evidence of California’s much higher cost of living, the federal government does not account for these income gaps when determining how much food stamp benefits to allocate for each household or if they even qualify. Census found that in the high-cost state of California, more than half of the renters in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties are above the 30 percent threshold. Those who spend half or more are “severely cost burdened” the 2010 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. More than 8.5 million Americans are also not eligible for SNAP because they already receive benefits from Supplemental Security Income, even though those payments aren’t even adequate enough for many people to cover their housing and other living costs.Īnyone who spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing is considered “cost burdened,” according to the U.S. Nearly eight percent of older Americans (60 years and older) also lived in food insecure households during the same time period ten percent of seniors age 60 and older also rely on food stamps.
EBT CALIFORNIA FREE
The anti-hunger nonprofit Hunger Free America reports that one in 10 adults (nearly 15 million) and almost one in six children have gone to bed on an empty stomach at least once during the past three years. Eighty-six percent of my unemployment benefits went towards my astronomically high Bay Area rent (yes, you read that right), but according to the federal government, I still didn’t qualify for any meaningful food assistance. When I was laid off from my last job more than a year ago, I applied for food stamps and was stunned to learn that not everyone on unemployment qualifies for monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Why does one of the wealthiest countries in the world make its most vulnerable citizens choose between food or shelter? It may seem crazy that the government doesn’t take action on behalf of citizens who can’t eat because more than half of their monthly income goes toward housing, but it’s happening more than many realize.
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