CalFresh is a federal program that operates at the state and county level providing monthly food benefits to individuals and families with low-income and provides economic benefits to communities.
Across the state, CalFresh is offering replacement benefits to those who lost their food in the latest storms.
“If any CalFresh household members were impacted by that and lost any food, they could be eligible to replace those benefits that they purchased with Cal Fresh,” Cal Fresh Outreach Manager at SLO Food Bank Venessa Rodriguez explained.
In San Luis Obispo County, where roughly 25,378 people in 17,714 households were issued north of five million dollars in December thanks to CalFresh benefits, are eligible for reimbursement if their food was spoiled or lost during the recent storms; an occurrence that happened during last year’s storms as well.
“There's a process by which we can replace those benefits and what was lost during that disaster or misfortune, and we can do that timely," SLO County CalFresh Program Manager Robb Koch explained.
The SLO Food Bank also plays a part, helping facilitate and inform the public about the CalFresh benefits within the county while simultaneously offering temporary food assistance making them an important partner for the county in providing food support for families in need.
“The SLO food bank is really just trying to push out the information that those who are CalFresh recipients are eligible for this replacement benefit," Rodriguez explained. "But additionally, if anyone isn't receiving CalFresh, they can still access the SLO Food Bank services.”
The process to qualify for CalFresh replacement benefits involves filling out a form that can either be delivered in person at the County Social Services department or online at their two different benefit sites.
- getcalfresh.org
- benefitscal.com
“You submit that to us The Department of Social Services," Koch said. "We have that two-day turnaround period and then we can put those benefits back on your [EBT] card so that you can go ahead and replace the food that was lost and that would be contacting the Department of Social Services to find out if they qualify for that.”
The deadline to submit a request with CalFresh for replacement benefits either online or in person is March 4.
