BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 608
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Kansen Chu, Chair
AB 608
(Gordon) - As Introduced February 24, 2015
SUBJECT: CalFresh: school meals
SUMMARY: Adds specific information about school-based nutrition
programs and other programs intended to serve children to the
information counties are required to provide to households
applying for CalFresh benefits.
Specifically, this bill:
1)States a number of legislative findings pertaining to poverty
among children in California, including the following:
a) Over 2 million children in California live in low-income
families and are in danger of experiencing hunger; and
b) Child development experts have found that even one
incidence of hunger can impact a child's health and future
academic success.
2)Declares the intent of the Legislature to reduce opportunities
AB 608
Page 2
for children to go hungry by requiring increased coordination
between CalFresh and child nutrition programs administered by
the California Department of Education.
3)Clarifies that, in addition to providing certain written
information pertaining to CalFresh, upon request, to community
action agencies, legal services offices and emergency food
programs, a county human services agency is also required to
provide such information, upon request, to other community
programs.
4)Requires a county human services agency to compile a list of
emergency and supplemental food providers, including local
child feeding and summer feeding programs, and requires that
list to be updated with information the county receives from
emergency and supplemental food assistance providers, cities,
school districts, summer lunch providers, the State Department
of Education, and the California Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Program.
5)Requires that list to be made available to households applying
for CalFresh and deletes the requirement for households to
receive the information only upon request.
6)Requires the county human services agency to inform households
applying for CalFresh that if the household is certified for
CalFresh, any child under age five in the household is
income-eligible for the WIC Program, and that all children in
the household are directly certified for the National School
Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program without further
application.
7)Requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to inform all
AB 608
Page 3
CalFresh households annually, prior to the end of the school
year, about the summer meal program, as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes, under federal law, the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), pursuant to the Food Stamp Act of
1964 and subsequent revisions, and establishes, in California
law, the CalFresh program to administer the provision of
federal SNAP benefits to low-income families and individuals
meeting specified criteria. (WIC 18900 et seq.)
2)Establishes, under federal law, eligibility requirements for
receipt of SNAP benefits, including income that is at or below
130% of the federal poverty level and is determined to be a
substantial limiting factor in permitting a recipient to
obtain a more nutritious diet, as specified. (7 CFR 273.9)
3)Provides that any child who is eligible for federal SNAP
benefits is automatically certified to receive free school
meals without an additional application. (7 CFR 245.6)
4)Provides that any child under age five who lives in a
household that is eligible for federal SNAP benefits is also
income-eligible for WIC Program benefits. (7 CFR 246.7)
5)Requires a CalFresh application to be processed within 30 days
from the date of application, and requires county welfare
departments to make information related to expedited CalFresh
benefits, as specified, available to each applicant upon his
or her initial application for CalFresh. (WIC 18911)
6)Requires each county welfare department to compile a list of
emergency food providers in the area served by the CalFresh
office, which shall be made available upon request and may be
used to refer individuals to emergency food assistance sites.
AB 608
Page 4
(WIC 18911)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
CalFresh: CalFresh benefits are funded entirely by the federal
government through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
sets specific eligibility requirements for SNAP programs across
the United States, including a gross and net income test, work
requirements, and other documentation requirements. The maximum
allowable gross income is 130% of the Federal Poverty Level
(FPL). Households with elderly or disabled members are not
subject to gross income criteria but must have a net monthly
income at or below 100% of the FPL. Other households must meet
both gross and net monthly income tests. CalFresh is
administered locally by county human services agencies, and the
federal, state, and county governments share in the cost of
administration of the program.
Benefits are made available on a monthly basis for food purchase
through an ATM-like electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card.
However, unlike other types of benefits that may be accessed
through an EBT card, CalFresh benefits cannot be withdrawn in
cash at point-of-sale terminals or at ATM machines. CalFresh
benefits can only be used to purchase food items to be prepared
and consumed at home, as well as seeds and plants that can be
grown at home and produce food. The average monthly benefit for
a CalFresh recipient is $152.87 per month, or $5.10 per person
per day, whereas the maximum monthly CalFresh benefit for a
household of four is $649, or $5.41 per person per day.
CalFresh recipients are required to regularly provide personal
information to the county office, including a home address, bank
AB 608
Page 5
account, phone number, and employer information. This reporting
requirement allows county offices to routinely check a
recipient's household composition and financial information to
verify validity and continued CalFresh eligibility. While most
safety net programs rely on related family composition in order
to determine eligibility for benefits, a CalFresh household is
defined as a group of people who meet the income and resource
eligibility criteria and live together, buy food, and prepare
meals together. Fifty-seven percent of CalFresh recipients are
children.
National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs: Public and
non-profit private schools can choose to participate in the
National School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs. Both
programs provide schools with cash subsidies from the USDA for
each meal served, provided the meals meet specified federal
nutritional guidelines and are offered for free or at a reduced
price to eligible children. Children from families who meet
federal SNAP guidelines are eligible for free meals through the
national school meals programs. If their household incomes are
between 130% and 185% of the poverty level, they are eligible
for reducedprice meals, for which students can be charged no
more than 30 cents per breakfast and 40 cents per lunch.
According to the USDA, in Fiscal Year 2014, 13.6 million
children across the country participated in the National School
Breakfast Program every day. Of those children, over 11 million
received those breakfasts for free or at a reduced price.
During that same fiscal year, 30.4 million children received
their lunch each day through the National School Lunch Program,
which included 21.7 million children who received their lunches
for free or at a reduced price.
AB 608
Page 6
Hunger among Californians: Despite efforts to increase access
to CalFresh nutrition assistance by reaching out to households
that are eligible but not currently participating in the
program, a number of California's families still experience food
insecurity, meaning they are unable to afford balanced meals and
often cut the size of their meals or go hungry. Households
experiencing food insecurity don't have consistent access to
enough food for healthy living due to a lack of money and other
resources. Some families that constantly battle with food
insecurity go without food for entire days, and parents in
food-insecure households often report going without food
themselves while ensuring their children have something to eat,
though it may be very little. A national food security survey
conducted in 2013 by the USDA Economic Research Service revealed
that 14.3% of households were food-insecure at least some time
during the year, including 5.6% with very low food security.
Numerous studies have documented the link between healthy eating
and health. Adults who go hungry have been shown to have higher
rates of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart
conditions, as well as depression and other mental health
challenges. Children who suffer from extreme poverty and hunger
are found to fall behind in developmental milestones, experience
worse health outcomes and increased hospitalizations, and have
poorer economic outcomes as adults.
Need for this bill: This bill seeks to ensure children do not
go hungry while a family's CalFresh application is pending.
While current law requires each county to compile a list of
local food providers (e.g., food pantries, soup kitchens) for
CalFresh applicants, there is no requirement for the list to
include child nutrition programs. This bill requires counties
to provide applicant households with updated information about
local emergency and school-based food programs, and ensures
households with children are aware of the children's ability to
receive food at school through the national school meals
programs. While this bill does not increase eligibility for
AB 608
Page 7
statewide or national nutrition programs, it seeks to make
existing nutrition programs more accessible to eligible
individuals who are hungry by guaranteeing they receive
information about those existing programs.
According to statewide CalFresh data from the Department of
Social Services, 96.7% of applications were processed within the
required 30-day timeframe in the fourth quarter of 2014. While
this means most applications were processed in a timely manner,
this could still allow for up to a 30-day period during which a
family that has reached out to the county for help does not have
money to buy food. Additionally, this average is built on data
from some counties meeting the 30-day requirement 100% of the
time while other counties are not, without any indication as to
the length of processing time for the additional applications
that were not processed within the required timeframe.
The author states, "According to the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, approximately 81% of households applying for
CalFresh have children. Children in households determined
eligible for CalFresh are also eligible for the National School
Lunch Program. However, the application for CalFresh
eligibility can take up to 30 days to process and, in the
meantime, a child can go hungry. Additionally, many families do
not know that their CalFresh certification can qualify them for
the school meal program or how to apply for the program if their
child is in need of a school day meal before their CalFresh
eligibility is determined. This is especially true when a
family's change in circumstance, like loss of job or family
illness, makes the family newly eligible after the school year
begins. This bill would better inform households applying for
CalFresh of resources. These important changes would provide
struggling families with the ability to reduce the incidences of
child hunger."
AB 608
Page 8
PRIOR LEGISLATION:
AB 2115 (Bradford), 2014, was substantially similar to this
bill. It died on the Senate Appropriations Suspense File.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Alameda County Community Food Bank
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Diabetic Association (CDA)
California Dietetic Association (CDA)
California Food Policy Advocates
California Hunger Action Coalition (CHAC)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
AB 608
Page 9
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
(CCWRO)
Community Food and Justice Coalition
Feeding American San Diego
Hunger Advocacy Network
National Association of Social Workers (NASW-CA)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (sponsor) support
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Myesha Jackson / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
AB 608
Page 10