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San Bernardino County ranks eighth in state in food stamp enrollments
Feb 09, 2012 (Redlands Daily Facts - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
San Bernardino County ranks eighth in the state in food stamp participants, but still is losing roughly $186 million annually in benefits because of nonparticipation from eligible households.
An analysis released Wednesday by California Food Policy Advocates, a nonprofit advocating health and well-being for low-income Californians, underscores a push in the last year by state and federal government to increase food stamp utilization.
"We know that there is increasing need across our state for people to access nutrition benefits. Families need help, and nutrition assistance is one way we can help," said Tia Shimada, spokeswoman for California Food Policy Advocates.
In the countySan Bernardino County, 56 percent of eligible recipients are not receiving the food-stamp, Medi-Cal and welfare benefits they are entitled to. Every food stamp redeemed at a grocery store injects revenue into the local economy, supports California agriculture and frees funds for individuals to address other financial matters than food, Shimada said.
In August, the county, in an effort to bolster utilization of the food-stamp, welfare and Medi-Cal programs, opened a 25,500-square-foot call center in San Bernardino, allowing residents to call and inquire about their benefits. Another call center opened in Hesperia on Jan. 23.
From October through the end of December, the San Bernardino call center averaged 62,100 calls a month. Since the opening of the call center in Hesperia, the county has received more than 86,000 calls to date from both centers combined, county spokesman David Wert said.
The county's Transitional Assistance Department has also established a website, C4yourself.com, where residents can apply for food stamp, welfare and Medi-Cal benefits online, Wert said.
"The numbers of online applications for CalFresh via C4yourself.com continue to increase and are currently approximately 24 percent of all CalFresh applications taken monthly," Wert said in an e-mail.
As of Jan. 31, 321,090 county residents were receiving food stamp benefits, Wert said.
Pressure has been put on local governments in the last year, especially in California, to facilitate access to underutilized programs for the eligible poor. In October, Gov. Jerry Brown passed legislation that removed the fingerprint requirement from the CalFresh application process and reduced the amount of paperwork applicants are required to fill out.
The whole concept has some conservatives scoffing.
"We're going to give out more welfare dollars to boost the economy. That makes sense," said San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, an outspoken critic on the issue. "The more incentives you get not to work, the more likely you are not to work. We need to (encourage) work, not welfare."
He opposed the lifting of the fingerprint requirement, and believes more controls are needed to ensure food-stamp recipients are who they say they are and redeeming their stamps for healthy foods.
"With technology today we can easily prevent people from purchasing junk food, which they could do under the current system," Derry said.
Wert said the county does not depend on government aid as a source of economic activity. The county just doesn't want to see $186 million, which could serve the dual purpose of helping low income residents and boost tax revenues, go to waste.
"The county recognizes that state and federal welfare benefits do translate into money coming into the county and being spent within the county," Wert said. "So it is disappointing when that money is left on the table and not brought into the county."
Reach Joe via email, call him at 909-386-3874, or find him on Twitter @SBCountyNow.
___ (c)2012 the Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.) Visit the Redlands
Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.) at www.redlandsdailyfacts.com Distributed by MCT
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