California – The Monterey County Department of Social and Employment Services (DSES) brings comprehensive services to limited-access populations by going out to them. MC-CHOICE staff bring WiFi enabled laptops and printers to complete as much of the application process as possible off-site and each outreach worker is assigned their own fully resourced van to ensure they can function as a mini-office.  The many government and non-profit partners they have developed provide a multiplicity of venues to reach the geographically, ethnically, and socially isolated communities in the County – WIC clinics, Town Halls, health clinics, food banks Laundromats, and churches among them. In 2007, MC-CHOICE outreach staff worked at 632 sites providing enrollment information and assistance to 47,019 people. During the same time, the number of food stamp households increased 7.5 percent over the previous year. They credit their success to the presence and credibility of their outreach staff which in turn has drawn committed county and state funding to continue MC-CHOICE throughout the next fiscal year. Monterey County DSES is a recipient of the 2008 Hunger Champion Award. For more information, contact Star Howard, MC-CHOICE Coordinator, Monterey County DSES, 1000 S. Main Street, Salinas, CA, howardsm@co.monterey.ca.us, 831-784-5619.

California – In partnership with the Food Bank, Alameda County Social Services facilitates periodic Food Stamp Program trainings for organizations interested in helping their own clients apply for FSP benefits. Participants receive a training manual complete with tools and resources to help them get started in their own Food Stamp Program eligibility pre-screening efforts. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Gomez, Outreach Coordinator, Alameda County Community Food Bank, P.O. Box 24590, Oakland, CA 94623, egomez@accfb.org  510-834-3663.

California – Alameda County Food Bank bi-lingual staff makes 20 minute presentations to community groups designed to share information about WIC, Summer Food Service Program, food bank distributions and Food Stamp Program benefits. They also participate in health fairs and school events to make these presentations. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Gomez, Outreach Coordinator, Alameda County Community Food Bank, P.O. Box 24590, Oakland, CA 94623, egomez@accfb.org  510-834-3663.

California – Alameda County Food Bank offers Food Stamp Program Enrollment Clinics for community-based organizations and their clients. Bi-lingual staff screens clients for eligibility and assists them in completing the application. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Gomez, Outreach Coordinator, Alameda County Community Food Bank, P.O. Box 24590, Oakland, CA 94623, egomez@accfb.org  510-834-3663.

California – Alameda County material is available in English, Spanish, Cantonese and Vietnamese and could be available in additional languages.
   • Free Food Within Your Reach, a food resource guide for Alameda County residents  
   • Free Food Within Your Reach, a short video highlighting real families receiving benefits
   • Food Stamps for Working Families, a color leaflet to help dispel myths with facts
   • What’s New With Food Stamps? –a flyer announcing newest changes to Food Stamp Program
For more information, contact: Elizabeth Gomez, Outreach Coordinator, Alameda County Community Food Bank, P.O. Box 24590, Oakland, CA 94623, egomez@accfb.org  510-834-3663.

California – Alameda County Food Bank operates a Food Helpline where callers can get emergency food referrals as well as free over-the-phone eligibility pre-screening for Food Stamp Program benefits. Callers can speak to a bi-lingual operator who will also mail them an application and provide assistance throughout the application process. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Gomez, Outreach Coordinator, Alameda County Community Food Bank, P.O. Box 24590, Oakland, CA 94623, egomez@accfb.org  510-834-3663.

California – Alameda County Social Services and the Food Bank facilitate meetings to identify barriers and find solutions to help increase participation in the Food Stamp Program. Meeting participants include staff members from various community, county and federal agencies. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Gomez, Outreach Coordinator, Alameda County Community Food Bank, P.O. Box 24590, Oakland, CA 94623, egomez@accfb.org 510-834-3663.

California – Cardenas Market had Spanish speaking volunteers at their Food Stamp Program eligibility pre-screening events in stores in underserved areas. For more information, contact Madeline Viens at Madeline.Viens@fns.usda.gov.

California – Orange County Social Services partners with the Community Action Partnership to provide Food Stamps in Four Hours. In this “relay team” operation, potentially eligible persons are identified at food distribution centers, pre-screened, offered bus transportation to a workshop location to receive assistance in completing applications, and then offered transportation to the Social Services Agency where the application process is completed. For more information, contact: Jerry Sanders, Commodity Supplemental Food Program Manager, Community Action Partnership of Orange County, 12640 Knott Street, Garden Grove, CA 92841, jsanders@capoc.org, 714-897-6670.

California – Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties Food Bank aired television ads aimed at marketing Food Stamp Program benefits as a nutrition and health solution. They also completed a five-minute video in English and Spanish, which answers 12 commonly-asked questions about Food Stamp Program benefits. The video is being distributed to health and social service agencies on California’s central coast. For more information, contact: Lee Mercer, Director of Education and Outreach, Food Bank of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties, P.O. Box 990, Watsonville, CA 95077, lee@thefoodbank.org, 831-722-7110 ext. 220.

California – Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties Food Bank offers FSP eligibility screening through their Food Hotline. Callers interested in applying are assisted with the application over the phone, invited to come in to the food bank for assistance, or transferred directly via CENTREX line to the County Food Stamp Program office. For more information, contact: Lee Mercer, Director of Education and Outreach, Food Bank of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties, P.O. Box 990, Watsonville, CA 95077, lee@thefoodbank.org, 831-722-7110 ext. 220.

California – From September 2004 to February 2005, The Community Food Bank of Fresno and FoodLink for Tulare County partnered with the Food and Nutrition Service Western Regional Office and the Congressional Hunger Center to build county food stamp outreach networks, deliver a media campaign, and seek program delivery practices that increase access. The Congressional Hunger Center assigned two Emerson National Hunger Fellows to the food banks for six months, during which time the Fellows developed two county food stamp access task forces that provided outreach training and resources to community partners and created partnerships with county social services agencies to deliver timely processing of outreach-generated applications. The Fellows designed and implemented a media campaign through transit advertisement and earned media spots in local and statewide newspapers and radio. They also arranged for proclamations to increase food stamp access and food security by county Boards of Supervisors and worked closely with county social services staff to test practices to increase access. The success of the work was marked by the development of commitment and common vision among all partners. For more information, contact: Brooke Wentworth, Special Projects Coordinator, FoodLink for Tulare County, 7427 W. Sunnyview, Visalia CA 93291, brookew@foodlinkTC.org, 559-651-3663; Dayatra Latin, Programs and Services Manager, Community Food Bank of Fresno, 210 N. Thorne Avenue, Fresno CA 93706, programs@communityfoodbank.net, 559-237-3663.

California – The Food and Nutrition Service Western Regional Office, in partnership with the California Department of Social Services has formed a working group with a small number of key California counties to pursue changes in application and processing policies to increase Food Stamp Program access and increase participation. The group will pursue obtaining waivers of Federal and State policy procedures where needed in order to implement their proposals. The effort is marked by the commitment of county partners to provide good service to their clients and a good working environment for their staff. For more information, contact: Dave Bailey, FNS Western Region, 550 Kearney St., Rm. 400, San Francisco, CA 94108-2518, dave.bailey@fns.usda.gov 

 

Last modified: 04/30/2009