A Cushman & Wakefield volunteer sorts plums at a local food bank food distribution center. Spokesman David May said the demand for food is on the rise again, which may be due to recent cuts to CalFresh benefits and ongoing strikes across the area. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
According to a recent report from the California Policy Institute, less than one-third of University of California (UC) and California Community College (CCC) students are not on Calfresh benefits, a program that issues monthly electronic benefits (commonly known as food stamps) that can be used to purchase most foods at many markets and grocery stores.
The study found that 30% of California community college students use food stamps, nearly a third more than the 22% of University of California students and 29% of University of California graduate students who used food stamps in 2019.
According to the report, about 93,000 students used CalFresh that year, but an estimated 235,000 students were denied benefits that would have covered their food costs.
The report provides estimates of eligibility and participation for each University of California campus and seven California Community College regions, as well as breakdowns by demographics, financial aid status and student type.
The study found that 17 percent of CCC students are eligible for Calfresh benefits, compared with 31 percent of UC undergraduates and 6 percent of UC graduate students. The lower eligibility rate for community college students is likely due to “their greater proportion of students living with their parents, making them less likely to qualify,” the researchers said.
According to the study, UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis had the highest enrollment rates among California universities, while the Central Valley schools had the highest enrollment rates across the CCC region at 38%. The Bay Area had the lowest at 22%.
Photo credit: California Policy Institute
“Students should not have to worry about whether they can afford their next meal,” explained Ginny Kim, director of Student Mental Health and Well-Being in the UC Chancellor's Office. “These estimates show that there is much work to be done to improve access and connect more eligible students to CalFresh benefits.”
In recent years, California has worked to make CalFresh available to more eligible students, but “these efforts have been hampered by a lack of understanding about the number of eligible students and how many of that group are participating,” the California Police Institute said.
