CALFRESH

Fighting American Food Insecurity During a Global Pandemic

“34.5% of American households with children under 18 reported that since the global pandemic ‘the food we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have enough money to get more.”

CHALLENGE

California’s SNAP participation rate has lagged behind the national average for more than a decade. Although the process for the United States’s getcalfresh.org website has greatly simplified the process for applying for CalFresh, barriers still remain. The aim is to find an effective solution that would increase CalFresh participation for eligible candidates. Reducing food insecurity affects federal poverty and directly impacts economic activity.

SOLUTION

In order to reduce food insecurity and poverty, we need to make sure that people whom are eligible are able to apply to the program as smoothly as possible. We will leverage human-centered service design with the goal to reduce the participation gap in the CalFresh program.

APPROACH

A mobile app with personalized features that streamlines meal planning, preparation, and cooking, while integrating social elements to make home cooking a fun, shared experience.A mobile app with personalized features that streamlines meal planning, preparation, and cooking, while integrating social elements to make home cooking a fun, shared experience.

BACKGROUND

SCalFresh (formerly known as Food Stamps/SNAP) aims to provide an essential hunger safety net for individuals and families with low income. The program benefits help stretch food budgets, allowing individuals aand families to afford nutritious food. However, there are roughly 1.6 million Californians who are eligible but didn’t recieve the food assistance they needed because of the confusing process.