CalFresh benefits available to Central Coast wildfire victims
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) The California Department of Social Services has opened its Disaster CalFresh program to wildfire victims in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
The food benefits are available between Oct. 14 and 22, and according to Santa Cruz County officials, a family of four with a monthly income of up to $2,893, after taking fire-related expenses into consideration, could be eligible for up to $646 in food benefits.
To qualify, a household must:
- Live in the disaster area at the time it happened
- In some cases, be a person who worked in the disaster are
- Plan on purchasing food during the benefit period
The household must have also experienced one of these effects:
- Have damage to home or self-employment property
- Have disaster-related expenses
- Have a disruption in income
- Lack access to water
- In some cases, may include eligibility for households that lost food, but had no other disaster-related expenses
People who are already getting CalFresh food benefits are not eligible for disaster food benefits.
To apply and learn more, contact the Monterey County Social and Employment Services at 831-755-4448 or the Santa Cruz County Human Services at 888-421-8080. Santa Cruz County residents can also apply online here.
