Low-income individuals and households can use a CalFresh EBT card to buy food at retail food outlets, grocery stores, farmers markets, and some restaurants.

CalFresh is a federally mandated, state-supervised, and county-operated program that issues monthly electronic benefits to assist qualified households and individuals in purchasing food. This benefit is called "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" (SNAP) at the federal level and "CalFresh" in California. It is designed to improve the health and well-being of children and low-income households by providing access to a nutritious diet and hence is an important safety net service for vulnerable San Francisco residents.

Find out if you qualify for CalFresh and learn more about the program by visiting the San Francisco Human Services Agency website.

ACTIVE CASELOADS

In 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded eligibility for Medi-Cal health coverage to low-income single adults who were not previously eligible. Many newly eligible individuals also qualify for CalFresh, creating new opportunities for HSA to co-enroll clients across the two programs.

Until 2019, California was the only state barring recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - a federal program that provides monthly payments to low-income seniors and people with disabilities - from also participating in CalFresh. California extended eligibility in 2019 while also launching a new application portal developed with Code for America, called GetCalFresh. Applications and participation increased significantly during this period.

HSA staff partnered with the Controller's Office in 2017 to review and improve CalFresh business processes. Front line workers designed and tested innovations to help clients stay enrolled, with strategies like simplifying forms, removing unnecessary or confusing information from interview materials, and providing clearer instructions. Download the summary from the Controller's Office or learn more about this work with the City Performance Lean Program.

How Performance is Measured

This measure represents the total number of cases receiving non-assistance food stamps. Non-assistance food stamps cases do not include those cases which also receive other forms of public assistance such as CalWORKs. The data source is CalWIN, an administrative database used in 18 California counties.

The number displayed on the scorecard page represents a fiscal year average of CalFresh active cases shown in the chart above.

Additional Information

• Apply for CalFresh and learn more about the program by visiting HSA's website.
• Find recipes and nutrition education resources at EatFresh.org.
• The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) reports additional data about CalFresh, including participation rates and new applications for each California county. Open the department's interactive dashboard to learn more.

Data

Access Scorecard data through DataSF, San Francisco's open data portal.