Student nutrition: eligibility for CalFresh benefits.

Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, households are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing federal law provides that students who are enrolled in college or other institutions of higher education at least 12 time are not eligible for SNAP benefits unless they meet one of several specified exemptions, including, but not limited to, an exemption for students receiving federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) . Existing law requires the Student Aid Commission to provide written notice to recipients of Cal Grant awards whose grants include any amount of funding that has been derived from the TANF block grant or state match, in order for the students to verify that they qualify for participation in the CalFresh program under an exemption. This bill would additionally require the commission, to the extent that it is permitted by federal law to use information to determine a student's CalFresh eligibility and possesses the pertinent information, to provide written notice to students of their exemption and that they may be eligible for benefits under the CalFresh program. The bill would also require the commission to confer with stakeholders on at least an annual basis to implement this provision and to continuously improve the process of securing CalFresh benefits for eligible students.