Silicon Valley food stamp levels highest since 2014

I guess the folks in Silicon Valley do not know about the DOOM LOOP in Oakland, LA or San Fran.  It has started in the Silicon Valley.  The reason it will get much worse?  AI.  Yes, AI takes a lot of energy—and California does not want to build new refineries—just wind turbines and solar panels—not enough to energize our current needs.  But add on EV cars, trucks and trains.  Then add electric stoves, air conditioners.  Not enough to keep the lights on.

“Participation in CalFresh is at its highest level in a decade. As of July, the federally funded food assistance program has more than 130,000 individuals receiving food stamps in the county, CalFresh Policy Implementation Specialist Michelle Demetrius said. Only 72,200 county residents received food stamps in 2019, the lowest point in the last 10 years and almost half of what the numbers are today, according to CalFresh data.

“There’s quite a food crisis brewing right now,” Bill Lee, executive director of Martha’s Kitchen, told San José Spotlight. 

This is the canary in the tunnel—and politicians are too blind to see it.

Silicon Valley food stamp levels highest since 2014

by Joyce Chu, San Jose Spotlight,  9/25/24   https://sanjosespotlight.com/silicon-valley-santa-clara-county-calfresh-food-stamps-levels-highest-since-2014/?utm_campaign=Daily%20Spotlight%20-%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_tRqcc4uO_dsANBdmkKegYcZBPZukfvfEyIXKwjf1ENr8UR4xS79ZPpEGKbCmLG55c1aE1OmPm5uI5SjtXiKv8rvHpp7s02eqAfP03GPH-0-HExi0&_hsmi=326365122&utm_content=326365122&utm_source=hs_email

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It’s a tale of two worlds in Santa Clara County — one of affluence and one of survival, as thousands of residents struggle to put food on the table.

Participation in CalFresh is at its highest level in a decade. As of July, the federally funded food assistance program has more than 130,000 individuals receiving food stamps in the county, CalFresh Policy Implementation Specialist Michelle Demetrius said. Only 72,200 county residents received food stamps in 2019, the lowest point in the last 10 years and almost half of what the numbers are today, according to CalFresh data.

“There’s quite a food crisis brewing right now,” Bill Lee, executive director of Martha’s Kitchen, told San José Spotlight. 

Martha’s Kitchen provides thousands of meals each year at its soup kitchen in Willow Glen, and to dozens of its partners throughout the county at transitional housing sites, low-income older adult facilities and more. Last year, the nonprofit served 2.8 million meals, a number that ballooned during the pandemic and never dropped. Prior to COVID-19, the organization was preparing 500,0000 meals a year.

“There’s tremendous inflationary pressure, and prices aren’t falling,” Lee said. “That broke people’s budgets because people are already on the tattered edge.”

Nationally, consumer prices have increased 21% since February 2020. For every $1,000 Americans spent on goods and services pre-pandemic, it now costs $1,212 for the same goods and services, according to a Bankrate analysis.

“People who were just having enough money to get their bills paid, all of a sudden didn’t have that. So they turn to us and they turn to places like CalFresh,” Lee said. 

Food insecurity grows

After losing his job in June, a homeless person who goes by the name G re-certified himself for CalFresh benefits. To qualify for CalFresh, individuals can’t make more than 200% of the federal poverty level, or $2,430 a month, and $5,000 a month for a family of four. Households at the maximum income level get as little as $23 in benefits a month.

G sleeps at a park in Palo Alto. Without any income, he gets the maximum benefit of $291 a month for an individual. The most a family of four can get is $973 a month.

G said it isn’t enough to cover his needs, but the bigger challenge comes from not having a kitchen, microwave or place to store his food. Everyday, he plans where he’ll go to eat: 7-Eleven for a pizza if he’s craving something warm, a food bank for fruit, a local church for a fresh meal or a grocery store for pre-cooked foods. 

“What makes (CalFresh) insufficient is not having access to a kitchen or a fridge,”  G told San José Spotlight. “If we could have access to a kitchen or fridge, it would go a long way.”  

Families may also find the amount they receive from CalFresh to be insufficient, especially after the program scaled back its allotments once the pandemic eased. During the pandemic, people enrolled in CalFresh got an additional $95 each month, with some households receiving more. Emergency allotments ended last April, and have contributed to the growing number of people coming to food banks, Tracy Weatherby, vice president of strategy and advocacy at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, said.  

Weatherby said the number of people being served has increased to nearly 500,000 people a month — the same as it was during the height of the pandemic. Prior to that, the food bank served 250,000 people every month through food distributions and grocery programs. 

“Even as people have been able to go back to work, the cost of living in our area and the income inequality still makes it very hard for people to get by,” Weatherby told San José Spotlight. “So our services are helping people be able to pay their rent.”

Weatherby thinks the increase in CalFresh participation is a result of the pandemic. She said it brought greater access and awareness of resources available. Second Harvest also helps people sign up for food stamps. 

CalFresh data shows the percentage of eligible households who applied for the benefit spiked during the pandemic, from 56% in 2020 to 71% in 2021. 

“I think a lot of people didn’t realize what an important benefit that could be, and the pandemic brought it to the forefront,” Weatherby said. “It brought people who probably originally needed our services. And they have stayed with us because they still need that support.”

Demetrius, with the county’s Social Services Agency, said that county has expanded its partnerships with nonprofits to help people apply for CalFresh. It has increased outreach at resource fairs and back to school nights, and has hired a CalFresh higher education liaison to help students sign up for food stamps.

County Food Systems Manager Cayce Hill said a major part of the county’s strategy to tackle food insecurity is to get more eligible households enrolled in CalFresh. 

“CalFresh is pretty widely known to be one of the most efficient and effective anti-hunger programs,” Hill told San José Spotlight. “We need to be maximizing it.”Last year, Martha’s Kitchen started helping people sign up for food stamps. With donations and funding down, the nonprofit hasn’t been able to keep up with demand. This year, the county did not provide the organization with any funding. 

Martha’s Kitchen has had to slash services within the county. Earlier this month, it had to cut meal programs to nonprofit Amigos de Guadalupe, which houses homeless families in hotels. 

“Unfortunately, the pandemic faded away but the demand for food never dropped. It always stayed elevated,” Lee said. “People are going unnourished and it’s going to come back and bite the county.”