Trump administration proposal could impact CalFresh program for low-income Californians
A proposal from the Department of Agriculture would limit access to food stamps or CalFresh for Americans by eliminating automatic enrollment.
The rule change is intended to prevent abuse of the system by states that automatically enroll anyone receiving any kind of welfare services. It would restrict food stamps only to people making no more than 130% of the national poverty level.
More than 18,000 households in Monterey County do their grocery shopping with the help of CalFresh. It’s food assistance that’s a necessity for many, but a proposed change by the trump administration could drastically lower how many in our county can benefit.
“I don’t think it should go on how much you make annually. If you work in the state and you’re paying your taxes and you need help. The state should help you,” Salinas resident Larry Amos said.
In total more than 46,000 people in Monterey County are on food assistance, and social services says
“It’s detrimental for our customers. It would potentially remove benefits from the households that can least afford to have them removed.”
Social services did not feel comfortable giving us an estimate of how many families in Monterey County could lose their assistance.
There is a two-month public comment period before this would go into effect. Monterey County social services says they are drafting a message with their concerns to send in to the federal government for review.
