S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , changes to Cal Fresh could mean thousands of people no longer receive benefits. We'll tell you how organizations are coming together to help. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Thousands of people across San Diego County alone could lose their Cal Fresh benefits throughout the year. That's because a new set of rules go into effect today tightening eligibility and expanding work requirements for people. Most people , I should say , will now need to work a certain number of hours to get Cal Fresh benefits , also known as Snap , at the federal level. I'm here with Alondra Alvarado , president and CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition , and Angela Nelson , a senior policy advocate at Nourish California , Alondra Angeles. Welcome to the show. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thank you for having us here today.
S1: So glad to have you both here. Um , Alondra , I'll start with you on this. Let's talk about these new rules that go into effect today.
S2: So instead of these previous rules affecting adults between 18 and 54 , these new rules are extended to people between 18 and up to 64 years old. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. And so around.
S2: Excuse me to do specific data and have exact numbers , because there are a lot of uncertainty or specific details that doesn't allow us to have an accurate number yet. But the the estimations are between 67,000 and 96,000 people in San Diego County will be losing access to coverage benefits , including the immigrant. Regulations that have changed are also for Snap recipients.
S1: And tell me specifically , you know , I mean , how many hours will people need to.
S2: So to report 40 hours a month , 80 hours a month. Sorry , I have my numbers mixed , so they have to work 20 hours a week and they have to report those either do volunteer work or different activities.
S1: So Angela is with that in mind. I mean , which groups of folks are most likely to be affected by these changes ? Yes.
S3: There's two major changes that HR one make to coverage. Some of them are the work requirements or time limits , which is under this rule , a person is subject to time limits. They can only receive three months of benefits. Every three years. So in a period of three years , it's only three months. And the hours are , um , Alondra stated , is 20 hours a week. But to be clear right now , no one is subject in California to this time limit because we had a waiver and that waiver has now ended in January. And this new time limits are going to start today , actually June 1st. And the families who are going to be more impacted are veterans , uh , Jews living foster care that are 18 years and over , people who are experiencing homelessness , who were asked before they were exempted , exempted from these regulations , now they are going to be affected. And then , like Alondra mentioned , all there are those ages 54 to 64 , which have been expanded from previous years.
S1: So like in another group that comes to mind , or maybe people who are disabled. Um , is there some , you know , with this new policy ? Are there folks who are going to get lost in paperwork and bureaucracy ? Um , because so much of what they need depend on paperwork from other sources. Exactly.
S3: Exactly. And and just to , um , I think one important thing to consider is that this is not about work requirement , because already 74% of people subject to the time limit are already working. But this is about people getting lost in the paperwork. Um , families are not able to prove or not completing the 20 hours a week. Uh , families , uh , just working in very low income jobs that are unstable and they have to like , change jobs or having difficulties with many people are either caring for children or older adults. Uh , They're better. They're homeless. A lot of people had , um , very , um , much trouble proving or getting the amount of time that is required.
S1: And I know you've hosted several listening sessions to hear how these changes are affecting families. What are some of the stories you've heard so far ? Yes.
S3: So we hosted four listening sessions with community members who are impacted by these changes and who are participants of the program. What we're hearing is the families have to make really difficult choices between , uh , paying for rent or buying food , buying medicines for older adults. And , um , families are trying to maybe even put their children early to bed so that they don't have to provide an additional meal. And speaking about children , I do want to emphasize that the programs that are specifically helping children , such as school meals. Sandbox are even more critical right now because a lot of families are losing these benefits. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Alondra , tell me more about the food and security landscape in San Diego County.
S2: And then it's not this new rules are not going to improve that. Currently , more than 1 in 4 of our neighbors are experiencing nutrition security , which means that they don't have access to they cannot afford three meals a day. And from this , the children is the highest population that's been affected. 32% of children in San Diego County are already experiencing nutrition security.
S1: And how you know , because there's so much happening here at once. You have the rising cost of food , and now you have fewer people potentially eligible for benefits. What do you think the situation will look like on the other side of this.
S2: I think it's very it's very alarming , I think because so far we're seeing people , nutrition , security rates are increasing. Also , the areas in the county that cannot do not receive enough food assistance , uh , especially areas like University City , El Cajon in Oceanside that have high nutritional security rates and then they don't have enough food assistance coming. And it's because the food banks , food pantries and other food emergency programs are that capacity right now , because we are seeing since last year a drop of people participating in coverage , because they are also scared of the new immigration rates and immigration changes. So they don't want to lose access to these programs. Um , so they are scared. They don't want to lose. They don't want to be deported. So people are just dropping from this , from this , uh , from federal food assistance programs. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , Angela is in April. Cal fresh eligibility ended for some non-citizens , like refugees and asylum.
S3: Also , this legislation created new exclusions for people who were previously eligible. And those included , like you mentioned , refugees , athletes , traffic survivors , survivors of domestic violence and individuals that were granted humanitarian parole. So these changes took effect on April 1st. But it is rolling as their new applications come in. Then there will be denied food assistance. So our ask in California is and this is about 33/33,000 humanitarian immigrants here in California. And our ask is for California to do more for these people who are losing their benefits into including the budget , assistance for them , and put them in the estate program so that we don't have people who are losing benefits and who have to make really hard choices , and many might end up being homeless or having a variety of challenges due to losing their benefits. And so we're asking California to support them and add them to the CFI program , which is a state funded program which is very similar to coverage. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I mean , it's astounding to to even know the numbers. Estimated 72,000 immigrants with lawful status affected across California with this. Um , and also I want to just make note in that HR one is that is President Donald Trump's one big beautiful bill. Correct ? Correct. Yes. Yeah , I know that a laundry touched on this , but can you talk a bit more on this about how you know , this fear around immigrant enforcement ? Um , could it's affecting the way people are actually navigating systems like Cal Fresh ? Yes.
S3: Um , families are afraid of reaching out to this program. They're afraid to fill in that applications. We're seeing a lot of people dropping off programs , and maybe they they or their children are eligible for the program , but due to immigration concerns or concerns of future opportunities for immigration , they are voluntarily declining and not enrolling in the program. And it's in coverage. And that includes other programs such as Sandbox and and week. And so we see this , um , atmosphere in the community of fear and , and hunger and creating a lot of issues and harm in our community. So we're asking the governor to help support people and also to provide outreach , as CDs is really making a big effort to reach out to families. And so my message for the community is , if you get a letter that you don't understand , please reach out to organizations that can help you , such as the San Diego Hunger Coalition , the food banks who can help you understand what's happening , and if there is any other waivers that are available to your family. And then reach out to other programs such as weak school meals , some bucks and the , um , the food banks too.
S1: And of course , we're going to have all of those links on our website at KPBS so that people have access to those resources. Alondra , what's the San Diego Hunger Coalition doing to to really spread awareness about the changes going into effect today.
S2: We work with around 500 partners in San Diego County , so we provide trainings , we provide technical assistance , and we also provide provide data so they know where the highest need is. And they can be strategic about their how they allocate their programs and resources. The other thing that we do is our data is also available by electoral district. So when we go and talk with legislators , we bring specific data to the district so they know exactly who's going to be affected and what else they can be doing. Another thing that I think it's important to highlight and to remember , and that's why we do as well. Creating awareness is that this is this is not only a problem for the families who are going to be losing benefits. This is a problem for a local local economy. According to USDA , for every dollar that spent like codfish , dollars that spend $1.79 come back to the local economy. So we are talking about a number between 67,000 and 96,000 people losing their benefits. You can kind of do a multiplier there and see how many millions of dollars we all are going to be affected with. Because coverage generates jobs , originates are also like. It gives families the flexibility to spend money on on medication or other expenses , bills and things like that. So this is a problem that is not only for the people who are going to fall off this program , but for all of us. Hmm.
S1:
S3: The first alchemy should be here real quick. The first is that California should protect and strengthen coverage , access , and make sure that implementation of these federal rules does not create harm by providing state funded benefits. So they can include immigrants , and they can include a lot of other people who are losing benefits into the state funded coverage. And second , California should advance food for all because food is a right and food for all is the campaign to ensure that all income eligible Californians can access food assistance , regardless of immigration status. And this is especially urgent right now because the federal changes are excluding more immigrants from food benefits who previously were supported , um , in California. And the third. Um , we must continue investing in children to ensure that every child has access to the food they need to grow , to learn , to thrive. And this include investing in school meals , investing in some books , and creating policies that make those programs truly accessible. And I cannot mention one more at the federal level , and that is for the farm bill to include a two year delay and the cost shift. And this is a really complicated it could be like an entire program , but there is a huge cost shift to a state in California will have to pay over $2 billion in coverage benefit next year. Some states are having a delay of two years , and we want California to be one of those states so that we can help California get to the place where they can actually put that money out. And and because to me , $2 billion is a huge cost for a state.
S1: All right. Alondra. Anything else to add before we get out of here ? Yes.
S2: I think , like even with the changes , we have identified around 190,000 people in San Diego County that still qualifies for coverage. So we want to encourage people to review and reach out to partners , reach out to service providers and see if they qualify. So that way they everyone in San Diego County can be receiving access to the help that they need. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , we'll have a link to all of the resources mentioned during this conversation on our website. And that is again , KPBS. I've been speaking with Alondra Alvarado , president and CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition. Alondra , thank you so much.
S2: Thank you.
S1: And I've also been speaking with Angela Nelson , a senior policy advocate at Nourish California. Angelus , thank you so much.
S3: Thank you for inviting us.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman.
S4: Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
