Sign up for CalFresh
Preventing hunger
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Social workers are visiting neighborhoods around Los Angeles County to urge people to sign up for food stamps, or CalFresh as the program is now known.
"Now more than ever—to prevent hunger due to the current state of the economy—it's our goal to increase the number of eligible L.A. County residents who receive this assistance,'' said Philip Browning, the director of the county Department of Public Social Services.
The county recently deployed workers in a van to spread the word.
CalFresh recipients now get debit cards that enables them to shop in most grocery stores and farmers' markets. Older and homeless recipients can use the card in some restaurants, according to the DPSS.
About 3 million Californians get government-subsidized food.
Despite the fact that a record 1.13 million individuals in Los Angeles County received CalFresh benefits in January 2013, there are still many residents in immediate need of assistance who are unaware that they may be eligible for the benefit.
Consequently, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to launch another campaign reminding people that May is CalFresh Awareness Month and that the help is available.
Additionally, the compaign is designed to promote healthier food choices in the nation’s largest and most diverse county.
In an effort to make sure that all residents who are eligible for a federal food program take advantage of it, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors designated May as CalFresh month, and officials are doing special outreach to low-income families and individuals.
Those who should consider applying are people who are unemployed, underemployed, involved in Welfare-to-Work, who work full-time but still meet the income eligibility or are on programs like General Relief or Social Security.
The County of Los Angeles has launched a campaign to help urge the hundreds of thousands of residents who are eligible to apply for food stamps to do so, and to simultaneously inform people about the program’s new name.
At the federal level, the Food Stamp program was renamed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and in California it is now called CalFresh.
Currently, an estimated 1 million households receive the CalFresh benefit, and according to county officials that is only about half of the people eligible.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Standard home sales — the kind involving non-distressed properties — rose to a 5-year high last month, and pending home sales climbed nearly 15 percent above the previous month, the California Association of Realtors reported today.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped to its lowest amount since Feb. 1 today, decreasing four-tenths of a cent to $3.954.
The average price has dropped 47 times in 48 days, falling 34.6 cents over that span, including seven-tenths of a cent on Sunday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
