GOVERNOR SIGNS WEBER BILL TO HELP HUNGRY STUDENTS

By Miriam Raftery

July 25, 2017 (San Diego) -- “Twenty-four percent of CSU students experience hunger and nearly 20 percent of University of California students do not have access to adequate food or nutrition,” says Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, Ph.D. (D-San Diego), an educator who has taught at San Diego State University.   Now Governor Jerry Brown has signed Assembly Bill 214 into law, a measure authored by Weber to help ease hunger among college students in California.

The bill aims to make it easier for low-income students to qualify for the CalFresh program.

“A lot of low-income students have difficulty accessing anti-hunger programs because of unclearly written policies,” Weber said in a statement. “This bill is aimed at clarifying those policies and to streamline student access to programs that would help them alleviate food insecurity.

The bill’s text indicates that it will simplify administration of CalFresh for college students and require the California Student Aid Commission to provide students with information that could help them verify their eligibility for CalFresh. 

It also clarifies definitions of on-campus food retailers required to participate in the CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program.  Currently, even many students who received SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) are unable to buy food on campus with SNAP and so wind up going hungry while at school.

According to the State Assembly’s analysis, 24 percent of California State University students have food insecurity and 12 percent are homeless. On University of California campuses, nearly one in five students did not have enough to eat, according to a separate study.  In addition to Weber’s action, the University of California has taken steps of its own to help combat hunger, such as bringing food banks onto their campuses.