Food Assistance for UC Students

UC Schools Are Seeing A Sharp Rise In CalFresh Enrollment

By Jill Replogle, 2-23-22, LAist

On Tuesday, UCLA student volunteers and staff stacked a table with free snacks and helped students start the process of enrolling in the food benefits program CalFresh. Gina Basile, a third-year studying dance and education, dropped by to see if they could help her figure out why she hadn't been able to use her CalFresh debit card, which she got in late January.

Ten percent of California Community College students and nearly 12% of University of California undergraduate students are enrolled in the CalFresh food benefits program, according to a new report from the California Policy Lab. For the UCs, that number is a jump from a decade ago — with a pivot upward in 2016 that the report suggests is tied to increased funding for the UC Basic Needs Initiatives:

The report also found that enrollment rates were generally higher among Black, Latino and Native American students, and among students who are the first in their families to attend college.

CalFresh provides low-income students with up to $250 per month to spend on groceries. The state has estimated that as little as 18% of eligible college students are enrolled in the safety net program, even though a much larger share of students report having trouble paying for food.

"The opportunity to have these benefits has been sort of life-changing, but I haven't been able to access them," Basile said. "It's really frustrating and really scary." Basile said she and her roommates all work minimum wage jobs, which don't pay enough to support offcampus living, even with her financial aid package.

"I thought that would be enough for me until I actually started living on my own and really got a sense of my own financial responsibility," said Basile, who is the first in her family to go to college. "Also this is my first time I moved away from home and so I just want to make sure that [my parents] know that I'm OK."

Food Insecurity 'Pretty Rampant' Among College Students

Elise Dizon-Ross is a co-author of the CPL report, which she said is the first

comprehensive look at which California college students are using the food assistance program, known at the federal level as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). "We knew food insecurity was pretty rampant among college students but we didn't know how many students were actually accessing these benefits," she said.

Dizon-Ross noted the wide variation in CalFresh enrollment on different campuses — for example, from a low of 7.8% of undergraduates at UC Riverside to 21% at UC Santa Barbara and 21.5% at UC Merced. She said this is likely due in part to the number of eligible students but also to the level of campus outreach and administrative support to get eligible students signed up.

Among other local UCs, just over 8% of Irvine and Los Angeles students are enrolled...

Full story at https://laist.com/news/education/uc-schools-are-seeing-a-sharp-rise-incalfresh-enrollment.

News release from California Policy Lab: https://www.capolicylab.org/news/newdatapoint-shows-how-many-uc-and-community-college-students-received-calfreshbenefits-in-2019-20/.

F u l l C a l i f o r n i a P o l i c y L a b r e p o r t : h t t p s : / / w w w . c a p o l i c y l a b . o r g / w p content/uploads/2022/02/Student-Participation-in-CalFresh.pdf.

From the UCLA Dept. of Biological Chemistry:

We are saddened to report that John Edmond, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biological Chemistry, passed away on February 17, 2022. Born on January 21, 1937 at Balafark Farm, Fintry, Scotland, Edmond was just passed his 85 th birthday.

After obtaining his BSc and PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, Edmond served as Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the same university. After a brief stint as a research biochemist in a basic lipid laboratory at Shell Research in England, Edmond was recruited as Assistant Professor to the Department of Biological Chemistry in 1968. His research career encompassed developmental neurobiochemistry and metabolism, focusing on lipid metabolism in the brain and its relationship to developmental disorders. Dr. Edmond had a distinguished academic and scientific career spanning over 40 years. He served as a reviewer in the NIH Physiological Chemistry Study Section (1980-86), and on the editorial board of Journal of Neuroscience Research for more than a decade.

John was a true citizen of UCLA and served on many committees, providing effective service to not only DGSOM but also to UCLA and the broader UC. Among the posts he held were Chair of the Academic Senate Committee on Research (1988-89), Chair of Statewide Committee on UC Research Policy (1989-1990), Chair of the Council on Planning and Budget (1992-94), Chair of the Academic Senate Task Force on Research Policy (1995-96), and Chair of the Academic Senate (2001-02). He was also the founding Chair of the Academic Senate Council on Research (1996-97). In DGSOM, Edmond served on the medical student Admission Committee and Gender and Power Abuse Committee for many years. Edmond believed deeply in the role of the Academic Senate and the model of shared governance at UCLA.

John was beloved by his students as well as his colleagues. He was variously described as principled, compassionate and fair with a cheerful personality. No task was too small to recruit his help. He was held in high regard by his trainees and peers alike.

He is survived by his wife Lorna whom he met and married in Glasgow, two children and four grandchildren. At his wish, his ashes will be interred with those of his family in Scotland.

Where's the buyer? From the Sacramento Bee: Gov. Gavin Newsom called on leaders of California’s public pension systems on Tuesday to sell their investments in Russia. The state’s Public Employees’ Retirement System and State Teachers’ Retirement System, along with the University of California Retirement Retirement Plan, have investments funds worth a combined $970 billion. They together hold more than $1.5 billion in investments in Russian stocks, private equity holdings, real estate, debt and other investments, Newsom said in a letter to the three chairpersons of the pension systems’ boards of directors.

CalPERS board President Theresa Taylor said... that while she was “personally appalled at Russia’s actions,” sanctions prevented the immediate sale of the system’s public assets in Russia, adding the system’s directors would have to weigh the affordability of getting rid of its private assets in the country

Newsom asked the three chairpersons to advise him of the steps they’re taking within 10 days...

Full story at https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-stateworker/article258928008.html.

There may be significant problems and losses entailed in selling off Russian assets in a fire sale mode. Where are the quick buyers? It will be interesting to see what is said about this demand from the governor at the next meeting of the investments committee of the Regents about two weeks from now. Note that the Board of Regents - which includes the governor as an ex officio Regent - has a fiduciary duty to the fund.