Regular readers of our blog know that St. Anthony’s JEVA (Justice Education, Volunteer, and Advocacy) program has been working to promote policies that simplify the process for receiving food assistance at the same time that we have worked to promote fair local and state budget practices that don’t deepen poverty and hunger in our community.

Given our history of advocacy on these topics, it was exciting to see two stories in this week’s San Francisco Bay Guardian about hunger and food security.

One of the stories is about a topic we know well: California’s low participation rate in the SNAP program (SNAP is the federal program that used to be known as “Food Stamps” and is called “CalFresh” here in California). St. Anthony’s is proud to have been involved in the advocacy efforts that have resulted (finally!) in the lifting of some of the barriers that California had put in place with the passage of AB 6 this October. The policy changes contained in AB 6 (removal of the finger imaging requirement for CalFresh applicants and implementing 6-month instead of quarterly reporting for CalFresh recipients) have been a staple of St. Anthony’s anti-hunger advocacy work for many years.

The other story also concerns a topic that St. Anthony’s knows well: the “food divide” in San Francisco that results in hunger and poor nutrition among low-income people, people living neighborhoods without access to healthy food, and seniors living on fixed incomes. I am quoted in the article explaining about how lack of health care, food, and stable housing work together to promote negative health outcomes like malnutrition and obesity. I also discuss budget cuts at the state level that have reduced the income of seniors and people with disabilities who receive SSI (Supplemental Security Income) by $77 per month as compared to the benefit levels of three years ago. Currently, SSI recipients are forced to try to make ends meet at a sub-poverty income level. And, because SSI recipients are ineligible for CalFresh benefits in the state of California, they face an even greater risk for hunger and the negative health consequences associated with it.

Back in June, St. Anthony’s partnered with anti-hunger organizations and advocacy groups from across California to help educate people about the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Restaurant Meals Program. The Restaurant Meals Program is part of the the CalFresh program (the new name for California’s food stamp program) and it allows CalFresh recipients who live in a place without a cooking facility (a Single Room Occupancy hotel room, for example), or who are homeless, elderly, or disabled to use their CalFresh benefits at a restaurant.

We talked to our Dining Room guests about their use of the program and its importance in helping them obtain healthy meals. Some of their stories were recounted here. After hearing the stories of our Dining Room guests, we realized how important both the Restaurant Meals program and our Dining Room are to low income people who can’t afford food and who don’t have the ability to cook their own food at home.

We are proud to have helped with the making of this video, which does a great job of telling the stories of some of the Californians who benefit from Restaurant Meals. Please check out the video and the SNAP Restaurant Meals website to learn more about this important program.

Pictured: Two St. Anthony's advocates at the Capitol in Sacramento.

In June, advocates from St. Anthony’s traveled to Sacramento to testify on behalf of AB 828 (Swanson). AB 828, also known as the Nutritional Assistance for Families Act, would lift the lifetime ban on CalFresh (the new name for California’s “food stamp” program) assistance for people with prior drug felony convictions.

California is one of a handful of states that has opted in to the federal ban on food stamp benefits for people with drug related felony convictions that have occurred after 1996.  Drug related felonies are the only type of felony convictions that disqualify a person from receiving CalFresh benefits.

Tomorrow, August 17, we will travel to Sacramento again to meet with state Senators to talk to them about the importance of AB 828.   Advocates who are participants in St. Anthony’s drug and alcohol rehab program, the Father Alfred Center are coming to Sacramento to tell legislators that we believe that CalFresh benefits are critical for successful community re-entry and economic self-sufficiency. Denied these benefits, individuals who have already paid their debt to society are unable to secure nutritious food for their families.

Want to join us?  You don’t have to trek to Sacramento to make your voice heard!  Click here to sign an online petition in support of AB 828.  We currently have 611 signatures.  We’d love to be able to get up to 828!  Please sign the petition and share it with your friends.

(Pictured: St. Anthony’s Advocate Franky and Assemblymember Sandre’ Swanson (D, Oakland) testify on behalf of AB 828)

St. Anthony’s has supported AB 828, the Nutritional Assistance for Families Act, and its goal to lift the lifetime ban on CalFresh (the new name for California’s “food stamp” program) assistance for people with prior low-level drug convictions. We have testified in support of the bill in front of both the Assembly and Senate Human Services Committees. because we believe that CalFresh benefits are critical for successful community re-entry and economic self-sufficiency. Denied these benefits, individuals who have already paid their debt to society are unable to secure nutritious food for their families.

AB 828 is currently stuck in the Senate Appropriations Committee on the “suspense file”.  We need to ask the Chair of this committee, Senator Christine Kehoe, to support the passage of AB 828 out of the suspense file so that it can be voted on by the entire Senate.

Please join St. Anthony’s in supporting AB 828 by writing to Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Christine Kehoe.  Hand written snail-mailed letters pack the most punch, but email is OK, too.

To send snail mail to Senator Kehoe, use this address:
The Honorable Christine Kehoe
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 5050
Sacramento, CA 95814

To email the Senator, use this address: senator.kehoe@sen.ca.gov

Not sure what to say?  Feel free to use our sample letter, below.

Dear Senator Kehoe:

I support Assembly Bill 828 (Swanson) and its goal to lift the lifetime ban on CalFresh assistance for people with prior low-level drug convictions.

Access to CalFresh benefits is critical for formerly incarcerated people to successfully re-enter their community and stay self-sufficient.  Since people have already served their time, I think they deserve to qualify for CalFresh like any other individual.  When formerly incarcerated people are unemployed or underemployed with no food assistance, it makes it harder for them to feed their family.  Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have already restored nutrition benefits to this vulnerable population (USDA, June 2009).

For these reasons, I strongly support AB 828 and urge you and your colleagues to pass it out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)

The following blog entry was written by Kendra Capece, Micah Fellow from St. Mary’s College who is interning with St. Anthony’s advocacy program this summer.

As St. Anthony’s Advocacy intern, today in the Dining Room I began outreach around a new issue, the Restaurant Meals Program. This service allows people who are homeless, disabled or seniors to use their food stamps (called CalFresh in California) in participating restaurants. (CalFresh benefits are stored on EBT cards, as pictured above.)  This is an incredibly necessary program because as one can imagine, being homeless, living in an single room occupancy hotel with no kitchen or not being physically able to cook presents serious hardships around fulfilling the basic need to eat. There has been talk at the federal level, however, that this program should be cut because of its lack of nutritional value, as many of the participating restaurants serve fast food.  (In my conversations with beneficiaries of the program, it was suggested that the government should be working to expand the program by getting more local, nutritious restaurants on board rather than cutting it. )  In response to the proposed elimination of the Restaurant Meals Program, a group of activists have started work on video testimony of people who use the program and don’t want to see it perish, in the hopes of educating the public and providing policymakers with a face behind the issue.

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Hunger Action Day 2011 was a great success.  This year, St. Anthony’s brought a busload of 50 participants to Hunger Action Day, the highest number of participants that we’ve ever had!  St. Anthony’s guests, volunteers and staff joined community partners from St. Boniface, Community Housing Partnership, and  Dolores Street Community Services to educate our legislators about hunger in our communities.

Here at St. Anthony’s, as we have seen an unprecedented growth in demand for our food programs.  We respond to this growing need not only by serving more food, but also by working together with our community for social justice.  On Hunger Action Day, we asked our legislators to make fair budgeting decisions, to reform California’s under-performing CalFresh program, to support local growers who want to donate produce to California food banks, and to support community reentry by removing the ban on CalFresh from people with drug related convictions.

Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (pictured above, addressing Hunger Action Day participants) authored two of our Hunger Action Day bills: AB 6, which simplifies and improves the CalFresh program and AB 152, which encourages California growers to donate fresh produce to food banks to distribute to people in need.

In the afternoon, we met in small groups with representatives from the offices of our four San Francisco legislators: Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano and Fiona Ma and Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee.  The legislative visits are always my favorite part of Hunger Action Day because people who are directly experiencing hunger get a chance to talk to policy makers about their experiences and ideas about how the state can improve anti-hunger programs.

Check out our Hunger Action Day photo album on our Facebook Page and stay tuned to our blog for more information about how to support our Hunger Action Day bills.

On Tuesday May 17, St. Anthony’s will join anti-hunger advocates from around California to talk to our state lawmakers on Hunger Action Day!   This year’s theme is: “FACE HUNGER – California’s Real Deficit!”

At St. Anthony’s we’ve seen significant increases in the amount of food we’re serving in our free dining room: our numbers are up 10% compared to last year.  As the numbers of people in need of free meals at St. Anthony’s dining room increases, we realize that speaking out about hunger is more important than ever.  We will be holding a training for our guests, volunteers, and community members to prepare for Hunger Action Day by learning about anti-hunger issues in California.  The training will be on Wednesday May 11, 2011 at 2:30 pm at 150 Golden Gate Ave.  If you’re interested in attending, please contact Celina Sutton at 415-592-2728 or csutton@stanthonysf.org

Hunger Action Day is an opportunity for regular Californians to talk to policy makers about hunger issues affecting their communities.  This year, we’ll be discussing:

If you’re interested in joining us in Sacramento on May 17, please contact Celina Sutton at 415-592-2728 or csutton@stanthonysf.org to reserve a seat on our bus.  Thanks to support from California Hunger Action Coalition, transportation is provided free for all participants.