What’s Cookin’ at the Food Bank Coalition?

The Food Bank and Food Stamp Outreach

The Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo has been dedicated to provide nutritious food to agencies that serve low-income households since we opened our doors in 1989. In 2003, we became aware that due to underutilization of the Food Stamp Program our county was losing out on millions of federal dollars each year. Our low-income food stamp eligible population in our county is estimated to be 40,000. Approximately 6,200 are children.

Since the food stamp program represents a major contribution to the households that qualify, and since food stamps contribute greatly to our local economy, the Food Bank in cooperation with Department of Social Services launched a successful outreach campaign in 2004 to increase food stamp participation rates by 20% in our county.

The Food Bank’s Food Stamp Outreach Program, funded by the California Association of Food Banks, the California Department of Health Services Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section, and The California Endowment Local Opportunities Fund is designed to make the Food Stamp Program more accessible to our low-income households.

The Food Bank’s new Food Stamp Outreach Program

As we usher in another year of Food Stamp Outreach, we are pleased to be adding some new services to our program. Our new program is designed to streamline and facilitate the Food Stamp Application process for eligible households in several ways.

We will continue to visit food distribution sites throughout the county. We will prescreen for eligibility and make available an estimate of the maximum monthly benefit, we will assist our clients with Part A of the application if they choose to apply. Each client who chooses to apply will be given a list of the documents they will need to collect for their interview, and we will submit their application to the appropriate DSS office on their behalf.

Our new outreach includes a more accurate method of prescreening. This is designed to minimize the guesswork on behalf of our clients as well as to minimize the flow of paperwork that is submitted to DSS.

Another addition to the Food Bank’s Food Stamp Outreach Program is that our food stamp outreach staff will be available evenings and weekends to prescreen people over the phone for food stamp eligibility based on the latest eligibility standards in our county. Our goal is to encourage participation among working families, elderly, and individuals who are not able to make it to the Department of Social Services during regular business hours.

We will also be available for walk in prescreening and application assistance at our new outreach office at 2208 Golden Hill Road in Paso Robles (next to Paso Robles Food Bank). This service will soon be offered at our South County facility as well.

Still another way we are working to increase participation rates in San Luis Obispo County is to use our experience to work with anti-hunger political action groups to cut the red tape in the legislation that restricts eligibility to our needy families. The Food Bank Coalition’s food stamp staff will annually attend political events that help shape future policy related to the Food Stamp Program. We will actively participate in the discussions and make recommendations concerning food stamp policies that direct how the Food Stamp Program operates and who it serves. We are looking forward to attending and participating in the Farm Bill Listening Sessions with the California Department of Food and Agriculture in July, and we are looking forward to another year of outreach.

We are proud of the cooperation we have received from 130 different local agencies, our County Board of Supervisors, Department of Social Services, and Cal Poly. Their support enhances our collective goal to improve the local economy, increase the nutrition available to low-income families, educate the community, and ultimately provide better access to the vital food stamp program.

To find out if you qualify for Food Stamps, call 227-6624