After months of planning, Cal State Long Beach is now accepting Electronic Benefits Transfer and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Corner Market convenience store, located on the west side of the University Student Union upper deck, will now allow participants of these programs to purchase items such as fresh fruit, sandwiches, snacks, school supplies and over-the-counter medication.
Having these systems accepted on campus resulted from CSULB’s interest in aiding food insecure students.
“Food and housing insecurity is a very real challenge for a large number of our students,” said CSULB President Jane Close Conoley in a press release. “And it’s critical we provide resources to those in need.”
Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.
The efforts to have EBT and SNAP available on campus derived from the Student Emergency Intervention and Wellness Program, an initiative that identifies and serves at-risk CSULB students.
In addition, research conducted by Rashida Crutchfield, an assistant professor in CSULB’s School of Social Work, discovered that 21 to 24 percent of CSU students face food insecurity.
“We knew that students faced this issue but we didn’t know to what level,” said CSULB’s Executive Director of News Michael Uhlenkamp.
Uhlenkamp said this research is “shining light” on the issue, thus helping the school in identifying the population that deals with food insecurity.
Programs such as The Meal Assistance Program “Feed a Need,” Short Term Housing Assistance Program and the recently opened ASI Beach Pantry are all CSULB efforts to aid students who face this issue.
However, unlike the ASI Beach Pantry being open to all students, EBT and SNAP services are available only for students who already are part of these programs.
SNAP is a federal aid program that offers food-purchasing assistance to eligible individuals and provides economic benefits to low-income communities.
EBT allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received.
In order to qualify for these services, the applicant must meet resource and income tests that show they don’t exceed $2,250 in countable resources, such as a bank account, or $3,250 in countable resources if at least one person in the household is age 60 or older, or is disabled.
California EBT cards can be used at several ATMs and businesses throughout the state, including the Corner Market convenience store in the University Student Union.
Moreover, CSULB was awarded a two-year $103,648 grant from the California Department of Social Services that will help with CalFresh Outreach in November.
The CalFresh Program offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income individuals and families.
To be eligible, one must live in a household that makes no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Additionally, another requirement is that a recipient must be a U.S. citizen. However, non-citizens admitted for humanitarian reasons and those admitted for permanent residence may be eligible as well.
“EBT and SNAP is challenging for students to apply for, almost like financial aid,” Uhlenkamp said.
According to Uhlenkamp, CalFresh will have events and workshops every semester to help students apply to such services.
The CalFresh Outreach will also allow social work student interns to conduct outreach activities, and a faculty member from the School of Social Work to oversee the interns.
At the moment, the Corner Market convenience store is the only location on campus that will accept EBT and SNAP. According to Uhlenkamp, plans of snack shops or fruit carts accepting these services are on the agenda.