S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. Major changes coming to the Snap program. We'll tell you what that means for California recipients. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Yesterday , the Trump administration warned it will withhold administrative Snap funding from more than 20 Democratic led states starting next week if they don't provide data on people receiving assistance. It's another threat facing the country's largest anti hunger program. After weeks of confusion during the government shutdown earlier this week. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also promised big changes to the program. This comes on top of changes to eligibility requirements for Snap , known as Cal Fresh here in California. So what does this mean for San Diegans who rely on these benefits ? Well , my next two guests are here to break that down and talk about the possible impacts. Alondra Alvarado is the president and CEO of San Diego's Hunger Coalition. Alondra , welcome. Hi. Also with us is Benjamin Chow. He is the policy manager for health and public benefits at the California Immigrant Policy Center. Benjamin , welcome to you. Hi. So I'll start with you , Benjamin. The Trump administration has made a lot of cuts and drastic alterations to Snap under its spending bill , H.R. one. Can you walk us through some of the biggest changes ? Yeah.
S2: So H.R. one , which was passed on July 4th of this year , made some pretty significant cuts to essential federal programs like Medicaid , Medicare , child tax credits and as you mentioned , snap. And so this these cuts will be impacting millions of families across the country. And this includes vulnerable populations like families with children , refugees , people experiencing homelessness , veterans and people with disabilities. So this is hundreds of billions of dollars that states and counties will now have to share that burden of covering. And in exchange , this bill also cut tax credits to the wealthy and created a super fund to to increase border enforcement. So a lot of these resources which went to food are now used to target and and make our communities feel unsafe. Right.
S1: Right. And much of your work is focused on food aid eligibility based on immigration status. What's changing there ? Yeah.
S2: So what H.R. one is doing to eligibility for Snap is it's now limiting eligibility to only US citizens , lawful permanent residents , otherwise known as green card holders , and these specific categories of immigrants called Coffee Nation residents or Cuban Haitian entrants. What the change is , is now Snapp will be excluding refugees , exiles , survivors of trafficking , survivors of domestic violence with pending petitions and folks granted individual , individual humanitarian parole. So humanitarian immigrants who've entered this country recently and rely on programs like Snap for essential needs will soon no longer be able to access that in our state is currently , you know , sorting out the details for when that will go into effect. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. There's also changes to expanded work requirements for Snap.
S2: Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Go ahead Ben.
S2: I guess I could hand it off to your laundry. So. Alondra.
S1: Alondra.
S3: Thank you. It's important to remember that H.R. one is making the biggest cuts to Snap that have happened in decades. And it includes also citing the work requirements. And now it's applied applies to people up to 64 years old before was 54 years old. And also to parents with kids 14 or older must work to qualify. And there are some exemptions. Exemptions for veterans , homeless individuals and former foster youth were also removed , so everyone is now having is required to present proof of their work. And this creates a barrier not just because not because its people are not working. It's because people are working already 2 or 3 jobs a week. And then on top of that , they have to figure out what the new process is going to be for them to prove that they are eligible. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S3: According to our research , it's 67,000 people in San Diego County might may lose out at risk with losing their benefits once all these changes are in place.
S1: And you've also looked into the economic impacts of losing Snap. Talk a bit about that. Correct.
S3: Correct. According to the USDA , for every Snap dollar that spent $1.79 comes to the local economy , which means that when people are losing access to benefit , it's not only those individuals or family who are losing access. We all are affected schools , businesses. So this means that just because of the changes of Snap and 67,000 people losing their benefits , uh , $250 million are going to be lost from the local economy per year. So we are going to be losing this money again. And another thing that H.R. one is doing is that , as Ben mentioned , some of the administrative burden is now going to be charged to the to the counties. And our county actually estimates that we are going to lose around $300 million a year because of the costs cost that they now have to to pay. Which means that as a as San Diego County , as a whole county , we are losing $250 million a year because of the changes. Just the snap without counting Medicaid and all these other changes.
S1:
S3: And Snap is one of the strongest programs to prevent hunger or to to help to to alleviate hunger for every meal that a food bank or a food pantry provides. Snap provides nine. This is a number from Feeding America , which means that already the food banks food assistance programs like senior meals congregated meals , food pantries. I already are already working at capacity. There's no way that our community can afford and can fill the gap that snap is going to leave. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. You know , it seems like there hasn't been a clear timeline either on when these changes are supposed to happen.
S3: Once that is the one that was supposed we were supposed to get away , but now it's in the middle also of it's been politicized and we don't know exactly where this is going to change this are going to take effect in San Diego County.
S1: You know , all this back and forth. It really seems to be complicating what is already a lengthy application process. Ben , can you talk more about that and the challenges of applying for Snap ? Yeah.
S2: Well , what I want to what I want to say is the uncertainty around when these changes will go into effect is , you know , creating a challenge at this moment just for folks who may want to apply to this program for the first time. Um , and so , uh , you know , one , one frequent challenge we , we experience is the , um , the amount of paperwork and the addition of , you know , the work requirements adds another step to that administrative process. And , you know , with the economy slowing down wheat. We know it's not easy to go out and find a job right away. And so that's one barrier that we expect to intensify. And the other barrier I'd like to lift up is just stigma. We're seeing this harmful rhetoric underlying these changes from the administration that is creating fear and uncertainty and distrust around these programs. And as you mentioned with that , the US Secretary of Agriculture , you know , looking to states and threatening to withhold funds , um , there's just a lot of distrust and whether these programs are safe to use , um , for community members.
S1: Alondra , anything to add to that ? Yeah.
S3: I think the other thing , it's a it's a very intimidating process to the application is long and a lot of people don't know actually how to feel this. And I think the language barrier just might be another thing. You know , the outreach and the assistance might be not available in every language. And it could be intimidating for some families , as I mentioned , to , to apply for this.
S1: So what is the current state of food and nutrition and security here in San Diego ? Yeah.
S3: According to our latest report , 1 in 4 San Diegans are food insecure. About 26% of the residents in San Diego County are unable to provide the regularly provide three nutritious meals a day for themselves of their families. It's important to highlight that this is back to pandemic era levels of hunger. Uh , and that translates to roughly 857,000 people , including 220,000 children , 184,000 older adults and 139 people with disabilities. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , you know , this is seems to be like it's the first time , really. Snap has been brought into the political spotlight like this. Um , Ben , what do you make of the political politicization of this program of food ? Yeah.
S2: So I've been working to on on Snap for the past several years and I this level of cruelty is is unprecedented in my eyes. And with H.R. one , the legislation breaks with decades of federal commitment , um , to this program. Um , and another , you know , aspect of the politicization that is concerning is just the blatant lies and the scapegoating scapegoating of immigrants and low income communities. Um , we saw this with H.R. one. We saw this with the government shutdown that happened from October until November , where members of Congress for blaming the shutdown and delays and Snap benefits , uh , alleging that Democrats wanted to provide health care to undocumented immigrants. And at the same time , we didn't see , um , immigration enforcement being shut down. But food benefits were impacted during this time. And so we're seeing a very clear line drawn by the administration where they've normalized using food as a bargaining chip in political Negotiations. And here in California , we believe food is a human right. Um , and , uh , we , uh , we've seen this administration rely on these dehumanizing narratives and toxic narratives to hurt , uh , families in our state. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Alondra , what are your thoughts.
S3: Again echoing what Ben just said , we believe that food is a human right. We all should have access to equitable food assistance. And the other thing that I think is important to mention is that the changes to snap , uh , are being decided arbitrarily. It's not based on research or like data. They are not data informed. So I think that's the biggest concern that that we have is that it's not following data. If anything , the current administration already can't cancel the USDA survey on food on hunger that they use to release yearly , which means that the decisions that are making that are going to continue to be happening are not going to be based on what the community actually needs. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. You mentioned earlier that if Snap goes away , food banks , pantries and other local groups might not be able to fill the gap. They are still seeing higher demand today.
S3: Some students are skipping school , which means that the students who relied on school meals to receive one nutritious meal a day , they are not receiving the food that they need. We've heard from other community partners that families who have already applied for coverage , with all the changes and all the political , the politicization of this. They are calling to us to withdraw their application , which means that these families need the food , but they are not receiving the food that they need. Other families are not going to grocery stores. And so that means that they only rely on whatever their families can give them because they are again scared to go out and provide food for their families. Mm.
S1: Mm. Ben , this situation is continuing to evolve , and it can be hard to keep track of everything that's going on. So where do you recommend people keep up with the latest news ? Yeah.
S2: So I think this is really relevant for folks in San Diego , especially the changes to eligibility. Um , over nearly 10,000 refugees have resettled in San Diego between 2020 and 2023. So regarding those changes to whether those folks can access food benefits , I recommend folks check out the California Department of Social Services website. They have a page that's dedicated to answering questions based on HR one and when these changes will go into effect , and also encourage folks to identify , you know , local , trusted organizations such as the San Diego Hunger Coalition and the San Diego Food Bank. And I'm sure Alondra and Your team. You have other places folks can go to. For more information. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Alondra. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. I think another good place to receive accurate information is through the county. They are the ones who are releasing timelines and informing us when the changes are going to happen and how are they going to happen. So I think it's good to follow their newsletter , their social media , to receive more information on this.
S1: You know , Ben , earlier you mentioned that there's sort of a lack of trust in these programs. So I'm curious to hear from both of you all. Um , what should people do as , as these federal programs , this one in particular , um , goes through these changes and may or may not be accessible to to everyone who needs it. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Well , one thing I'll say is , I think the intent behind a lot of these policy changes is to create confusion. Um , and so the best thing that you can do right now is to get. You know , arm yourself with the facts , especially if you , you or your household is experiencing need right now. Um , and we wouldn't want , uh , you know. Uh , you know , this news or any misinformation to stop you from , from getting connected to food that you need in your day to day. Alejandro.
S1: Alejandro. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. I think the other thing is that even with these changes , there are still in San Diego County. They are still 1088. I'm I'm sorry , 188,000 or people who qualify for qualifiers , but they are not enrolled. Which means if we spread information , accurate information about coverage and how it works , and we try to help our neighbors and whoever might need this information , that could be a good way of alleviate the burden that food banks are going to be receiving , because these people not only are going to be receiving access to food , but they are going to they're going to be able to choose what they need and what they are actually going to eat at home.
S1: Well , I want to thank you both for sharing this really important information. We'll include any resources mentioned here at KPBS. I've been speaking with Alondra Alvarado , president and CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition. Alondra , thank you so much.
S3: Thank you for having me.
S1: And Benjamin Chow , policy manager for health and public benefits at the California Immigrant Policy Center. Benjamin , thanks for joining us as well.
S2: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today.
S4: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
