CalFresh
Each day, millions of Californians struggle to feed their families nutritious food or simply go without because they can’t afford it.
Help Me Help You is assisting to end this crisis by providing free enrollment assistance for CalFresh to receive benefits to purchase healthy food.
As of Sept 2022, 4.8 million Californian residents receive monthly CalFresh benefits and approximately 6.5 million are eligible.
What Is CalFresh?
CalFresh is a supplemental food program to help qualifying low-income individuals and families get the food they need to stay healthy. It is California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formally known as Food Stamps. The CalFresh Benefit provides monthly dollars via an EBT debit card to purchase fresh and packaged groceries from participating grocery stores (including Albertsons, Vons, Walmart, Aldi, Amazon, and farmer's markets), as well as seeds/plants to grow your own food at home. Some participating stores also offer free home delivery. Seniors (60 years and over), the homeless, and the disabled also have the option to use their CalFresh EBT card to purchase hot or prepared food from participating restaurants including Everytable, Wingstop, Subway, Pizza Hut, El Pollo Loco, Fat Burger, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and many more. CalFresh recipients also receive additional payments via Emergency Allotments when times are tough for all as well as other beneficial services.
Qualifying for a CalFresh EBT debit card means you would also qualify for a number of other beneficial services including:
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National School Lunch Program for FREE/reduced prices of nutritious school meals and other services for school children
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Health & Wellness Services
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Fee Waivers for College Apps, Admissions Tests
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Discounted utility services, transportation, and more.
Household income and size determine how much CalFresh dollars you receive. However, certain expenses, including your rent, childcare costs, and utility expenses such as gas and electric bills are deducted from household income to help you qualify for CalFresh and increase your benefits.
How Does CalFresh Lower Poverty & Support the Economy?
Without CalFresh, nearly 700,000 additional Californians would be undernourished and in poverty. CalFresh also supports local businesses. For every $1 of CalFresh spent generates $1.79 for the local economy.
30% of LA residents do not realize they are eligible to receive CalFresh.
Who Is Eligible For CalFresh?
CalFresh is available to individuals and families with low incomes. Citizens and legal immigrant Californian residents are eligible. As of March 2021, CalFresh is not part of the Public Charge test and will NOT affect your immigration status. Undocumented immigrants are usually not eligible, however, they can apply for their children who are legal residents or U.S. citizens. Households without special circumstances must qualify under income guidelines.
If you have previously applied for CalFresh and were unsuccessful, you should try again. New legislation was passed to increase access and you may now be eligible.
Income Guidelines For CalFresh?
Are There Any Concessions?
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People who receive SSI/SSP do qualify for CalFresh, and so may other household members.
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The federal unemployment boost doesn't count toward people's income when they apply for CalFresh, making more jobless people able to qualify.
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To qualify for CalFresh, households must meet the "net income" test which takes into account your expenses for shelter, medical bills, utilities, and childcare.
FREE CalFresh Enrollment Assistance:
Help Me Help You offers FREE CalFresh enrollment assistance. Our compassionate Calfresh experts simplify the application process, check your eligibility, and assist you in accessing nutritious food quickly.
Once qualified, you will receive your CalFresh debit card and a separate password to shop for groceries.
To stay eligible, all CalFresh recipients must complete report forms every six months with semi-annual recertification.
Call us today at (562) 612- 5001 to speak with one of our CalFresh advocates.
If you are a community-based agency interested in outreach materials or training for your staff, contact us on (562) 612-5001. To refer clients for FREE Calfresh enrollment please complete the referral form.
How To Volunteer To Help More Californian’s Access CalFresh:
Help Me Help You is always looking for volunteers to assist more Californians to access the CalFresh benefit. If you are interested in volunteering to distribute CalFresh flyers in the community or with online enrollments, please click the volunteer button to register
your interest.
¿Cómo puedo solicitar CalFresh?
Help Me Help You is an Official LA County Calfresh Outreach Partner
