CalFresh

Apr 25 2013

Helps low-income families, individuals

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.

Jul 10 2012

UCLA releases new study

About 3.8 million Californians could not afford to consistently feed themselves or their families during the Great Recession, according to a UCLA study released Monday.

Low-income families, households with children and Latinos suffered the greatest so-called food insecurity—multiple occasions in which people had to cut their food intake and experienced hunger, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
May 3 2012

New name for the Food Stamp program

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.

Jerriel Xavier Biggles  |   OW High School Intern
Jun 23 2011

Stores give away recyclable bags

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a ban on the use of plastic bags in the unincorporated areas, and it begins July 1.

The ban affects all local supermarkets like Food 4 Less, Ralph’s, Albertsons, Sam’s Club as well as large retail stores with a pharmacy including CVS and Walgreens.

Dec 22 2010

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.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.