State Budget Sending San Francisco $2 Million To Fight Food Insecurity
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/BCN) -- The 2021 California state budget, signed by the governor last week, sends $2 million to San Francisco for fighting food insecurity through funding for two local organizations.
The state budget allocated $1 million each to two San Francisco-based organizations: Meals on Wheels San Francisco, which delivers daily meals to homebound seniors, and Mission Food Hub, an organization founded during the pandemic to provide culturally appropriate groceries for families affected by COVID-19.
The funding was made possible through advocacy by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who also authored legislation expanding access to CalFresh, the state's version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Under Senate Bill 107, which was passed as part of the state budget on July 16, the state's Department of Social Services must offer a simplified application for seniors and allow recipients to apply, report and recertify for CalFresh over the phone.
"Food insecurity was a major problem in San Francisco before the pandemic, and the past year has made a bad situation even worse," Wiener said in a statement. "CalFresh application reform is long overdue, and seniors and people with disabilities will finally have greater access to the food benefits to which they're entitled."
With the new funding from the budget, Meals on Wheels San Francisco plans to purchase a backup generator at its kitchen facility in Bayview to be able to continue providing services during natural disasters or power outages. Mission Food Hub said it will use the funding to continue expanding its services to the 12,000 Latino residents they estimate are unemployed due to the pandemic.
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