CalFresh, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP), is one of California’s largest safety net programs. The program provides food assistance to 4.8 million Californians, and according to the most recent estimates, lifts about half a million Californians out of poverty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state policies have increased benefit levels and expanded eligibility for CalFresh. This report goes beyond annual poverty snapshots to investigate the double jeopardy of low and unstable income and addresses two key questions: To what extent do safety net resources stabilize incomes of CalFresh participants? and How did CalFresh and other safety net resources affect family budgets at the start of the pandemic?

This Food for Life Global blogpost explores the meaning of food security versus food insecurity. Food security is the confidence of knowing where and when your next meal will be and that if hungry, one will soon be able to feed oneself. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” On the other hand, food insecurity is the inability to know where and when one’s next meal will be. The post also covers four levels of food security, causes and effects of food insecurity, elements of food security, and the distinction between hunger and food insecurity.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close, everything changed. Many meal providers found themselves rapidly adapting their operations to reach kids in their communities. This report presents innovations in child nutrition programs illustrated by case studies informed by interviews. The report includes innovative ideas pertaining to meals served, outreach, delivery, partnerships, and areas beyond food.

The authors of this blog provide data and commentary that highlight three key economic concerns for the summer of 2022: women leaving the labor force, economic contraction erasing job gains by Black workers, and the heightened risk of food insecurity. To mitigate these potential pitfalls, the authors suggest robust fiscal policies such as stronger unemployment insurance and a renewed monthly Child Tax Credit as well as a collaborative effort from the federal government, states, philanthropy, and local community-based organizations to support families vulnerable to food insecurity and homelessness in the coming months.

The University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty will host a webinar on October 21, 2021 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT to discuss SNAP eligibility and the relationship of distance to takeup of SNAP benefits. The webinar offers a perspective from SNAP offices and stores that accept SNAP. Research will be presented by Marianne Bitler, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Davis.

This report identifies the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity, housing, and employment hardships. Data tables illustrate the difficulties in accessing enough food, increased inability to make timely rent or mortgage payments, challenges in meeting household expenses, and the concentration of job losses in low-wage industries. Comparative state data on these hardships is also presented.

This set of resources presents data and research highlighting how food insufficiency increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Included are data visualizations on food insufficiency rates by race/ethnicity, mapping the average rate of food insufficiency, and comparative state rates of food insufficiency calculated from the Census Household Pulse Survey. Also featured are research briefs on hunger, poverty, and health during the pandemic and its impact on identified special populations.

Program services, such as health care, nutritious food, housing, early care, and education, are often delivered in silos, creating access barriers for families. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation blogpost presents an interactive map that documents 95 state and local coordinated service approaches nationally. The map is part of the Assessing Models of Coordinated Services project which promotes children’s healthy development.

This report examines the individual, household, and environmental barriers that SNAP participants encounter as they aim to maintain a healthy diet throughout a month. Drawing on a national survey of SNAP participants, the report also covers the interaction between barriers, the coping mechanisms that SNAP participants used to remediate the barriers, and the association of these barriers with household food insecurity.

This blogpost illustrates findings of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Service Coordinator program (ROSS-SC). ROSS-SC provides funding to local public housing authorities to support public housing residents—primarily seniors, persons with disabilities, and very low-income families. The blogpost identifies how ROSS-SC helped residents to access food and transportation, deal with health emergencies, address domestic violence, and access child care.

(See also Resources on "intimate partner violence" in the Resource Library)