Shelani Villanueva, an eligibility technician at the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, helps a student at a CalFresh outreach event at Mt. San Jacinto College’s main campus. Valley News/Courtesy photo
RIVERSIDE COUNTY – Local college students are encouraged to apply for a food assistance program called CalFresh that can help stretch their grocery budgets and promote healthier eating before a temporary expansion in eligibility comes to an end in June, county officials announced recently.
For the past two years, California was able to temporarily expand CalFresh eligibility to college students eligible for work-study and those whose families have a $0 required contribution to their education expenses.
Since the federal public health emergency expired Thursday, May 11, the two pandemic-era exemptions will no longer be available to college students seeking to enroll in CalFresh, the state’s largest food program that provides monthly benefits to over five million Californians.
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