CalFresh Outreach in Schools
No Kid Hungry is working with state, county, schools, and community organizations across California to bring awareness, dispel myths and assist families with CalFresh.
Use the CalFresh Screening Tool by mRelief!
We partnered with mRelief to ensure eligible families in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties are connected to vital food assistance resources like CalFresh. If families are eligible for CalFresh after using the screening tool, they will be connected to a local agency like 2-1-1 OC and Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino to help with the application process.
Check the tabs below for more information.
CONNECTING OC FAMILIES TO CALFRESH!
We invite schools and districts to use the social media graphics and county resource toolkit to help schools spread the word about CalFresh and the screening tool.
The County Resource Toolkit for Schools includes: Why CalFresh Outreach in Schools?, Sample Language for Newsletters, Emails, Robocalls and Social Media, Local Agency Contacts, and more!
Families can apply for CalFresh online, by phone, or in-person.
Families can check their CalFresh eligibility by texting FOOD OC or COMIDA OC to 74544.
CONNECTING RIVERSIDE FAMILIES TO CALFRESH!
We invite schools and districts to use the social media graphics and county resource toolkit to help schools spread the word about CalFresh and the screening tool.
The County Resource Toolkit for Schools includes: Why CalFresh Outreach in Schools?, Sample Language for Newsletters, Emails, Robocalls and Social Media, Local Agency Contacts, and more!
Families can apply for CalFresh online, by phone, or in-person.
Families can check their CalFresh eligibility by texting FOOD IE or COMIDA IE to 74544.
CONNECTING SAN BERNARDINO FAMILIES TO CALFRESH!
We invite schools and districts to use the social media graphics and county resource toolkit to help schools spread the word about CalFresh and the screening tool.
The County Resource Toolkit for Schools includes: Why CalFresh Outreach in Schools?, Sample Language for Newsletters, Emails, Robocalls and Social Media, Local Agency Contacts, and more!
Families can apply for CalFresh online, by phone, or in-person.
Families can check their CalFresh eligibility by texting FOOD IE or COMIDA IE to 74544.
CONNECTING FAMILIES ACROSS CALIFORNIA TO CALFRESH!
The CalFresh Outreach Challenge is a collaboration of community organizations, schools, and county agencies to raise awareness of CalFresh in Schools and create resources and tools to help schools connect their scholars to vital nutrition assistance programs. We encourage you to take on the CalFresh Outreach Challenge in your county. Please contact No Kid Hungry CA if you’re interested in launching the Challenge in your county at nokidhungryca[at]strength.org.
Families in ALL COUNTIES can apply for CalFresh online on BenefitsCal.com, by phone or in-person.
Families can still check their CalFresh eligibility online at mRelief.com and be connected to a local agency to help with the application.
FAQs
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as CalFresh in California, is one of the most effective ways to combat childhood hunger in America. The CalFresh program supplements a family’s food budget in order to ensure they are getting adequate nutrition.
CalFresh is proud to play a critical role in reducing hunger and poverty and improving health by providing nutrition assistance to millions of low-income households through an array of vital services. CalFresh has the power to reduce hunger, support health, expand opportunity, and even respond to disasters. CalFresh provides monthly benefits to help households purchase healthy and nutritious food they need if eligible.
A CalFresh Household may be a family, an individual, or any combination that purchases food and prepares meals together. A child living with parents cannot be a separate household until age 22.
Citizens of the United States or non-citizens who are legally residing in the U.S. are eligible to apply for CalFresh. Non-citizen parents may be able to receive benefits for their children who are citizens. Some income and property limits are reviewed to see if the CalFresh household is eligible.
Families with children eligible for CalFresh may be eligible for Med-Cal Coverage as well. To find out if you are eligible for both CalFresh and Medi-Cal, visit www.BenefitsCal.com.
Public charge rules do not apply to programs like CalFresh, Summer EBT, WIC, and school meal programs. Getting CalFresh will not affect your immigration status, or your chances of getting legal permanent residency in the future. For more information about immigration and public benefits, visit KeepYourBenefits.org.
No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. Share Our Strength is a member of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
When kids are enrolled in CalFresh, they get the food they need to succeed both at home and school. But many newly eligible families may not know they qualify or how to sign up. As trusted messengers, schools and community organizations are important resources of information for families.
CalFresh helps kids at home: Now is a great time to enroll or renew for CalFresh benefits! California families with children can spend less time worrying about getting food on the table and more time with their family.
CalFresh helps kids at school: Students enrolled in CalFresh are directly certified for free school meals and are automatically enrolled in SUN Bucks, the new summer grocery benefit program.
CalFresh helps kids in the classroom: When students consistently get the food they need, it leads to lower rates of chronic absenteeism, stronger test scores and fewer disruptions caused by hungry behavior or trips to the nurse.
CalFresh helps school nutrition budgets: Students enrolled in CalFresh are automatically certified for free school meals. That means fewer school meal applications to process and fewer unpaid meal charges.
CalFresh helps schools qualify for more programs: When CalFresh reaches more eligible students, it improves a school’s ability to operate free summer and afterschool meal programs and to adopt the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which enables eligible schools to serve meals to all students at no cost to families.
Not sure if you qualify? Try the mRelief CalFresh Screening Tool, just answer
If you are eligible, you can apply online at www.BenefitsCal.com or contact your county social services agency.
For immediate food assistance, find your local food bank. You can also call 2-1-1, a resource helpline for referrals for childcare, affordable housing or shelter, cash assistance, healthcare and more.
Last Reviewed: December 2, 2024