Cooking

6 Do’s and Don’ts of CalFresh Benefits

January 9, 2019 Cooking, Food, Life

By Finola Rodriguez, APIFM Health Educator

Freshly graduated from UC Irvine, I was recruited by Americorps to be an academic interventionist for 11 middle schoolers in South LA. Knowing I would survive on a modest bi-weekly stipend, I was encouraged to sign up for food stamps, which in the end taught me a ton about the level of food access the community I was serving had earning a similar monthly income. I am not a medical professional, so please take the following Do’s and Don’t tips just as suggestions and recommendations! Enjoy.

1. Do know what type of food stamps you have.

There are two kinds: EBT SNAP and EBT cash. Once after my long 10-hour day of service with Americorps, I saw a local Wendy’s with a banner that read “Accepts EBT.” I rolled through the drive-thru to discover I only had EBT SNAP, meaning I could only use my card to buy room-temp or cold food and beverages from the grocery store. Immediately my plans to use my food stamps to buy hot chicken, burgers, fries and a coffee went down the drain. Nonetheless it was a great opportunity to challenge my cooking capabilities, not settle for drive-thru meals, and better plan my nourishment for the future.

2. Don’t try to use most of your monthly food stamps on pre-packaged meals.

As tempting as it is to buy already made salads, wraps, soups, and snacks (trust me I am guilty as charged), it is not as sustainable as you think. Those were made to only last you one meal, not the whole week. Try to limit the packaged lunches to 1-2 a week max. You will get a much higher yield when you mimic some of those favorite meals while buying your own ingredients and dedicating one day of the week to make at least 3 portions for the days to come. Not only is that more cost-efficient, but it turns out to be fun when you can dedicate time to cooking.

3. Do take your lifestyle into consideration.

Be more compassionate with yourself when planning your next meals. In a culture where it is so easy to be wrapped up in the next fad diet and the pressure to eat as fresh/organic possible, we also have to consider shelf-life and who we are providing for. Sometimes I had to buy flash-frozen fruits and vegetables because I overbought fresh produce previously. When I got too ambitious about my nourishment, my eyes would get too big at the grocery store. This unfortunately led to wasted benefits, a smelly fridge, extra money spent on meals outside, and a hungry belly. Do some research online on ‘minimal waste’ recipes and see how you can optimize your meals and time while still getting your daily nutrients. I use a lot of my leftover vegetables to make broth or sometimes freeze fruits and vegetables to make smoothies for breakfast the next morning.

4. Don’t overcomplicate when and where you buy your groceries.

Simple is better. When I first moved to Alhambra it took a couple weeks of driving around to find out which stores were around me, their opening and closing times, and when the less busy hours were to go. As much as I wanted to go to Whole Foods with my roommates I also had to keep in mind I had very limited funds in my account and I could not afford the freshly pressed juice and pre-made sushi 24/7. That being said, I did enjoy seeking advice from members of my family of their practices they utilized when they immigrated to the U.S. There can be affordable, fresh fruits and vegetables at your local 99 Cents Store, Food For Less, and 99 Ranch. It’s also helpful to look for catalogs featuring special coupons and deals in the grocery stores, consider the seasonal fruits and vegetables (they will be most likely cheaper), and dedicate time each week to make future meals for yourself. Your wellness is worth it.

5. Do take time to understand the expiration and application dates your card has.

You will get letters in the mail regarding the status of your benefits and when to reapply. Be very punctual as they need to update documentation every 6 months. So after about 5 months you will get instructions on how to do so, as well as the dates your benefits will cancel if you do not yield to their procedures. Luckily they do have the number of your social worker and they list all the documents you need to submit. If you have smartphone, consider downloading a free scanning app to ease your submission process. I would take pictures of the documents they needed (i.e. monthly rent amounts, income documents, utility bills etc.). And if you are confused just give them a call to confirm the status or check online every couple days. Do not wait last minute!

6. Don’t assume that your food stamps refill on the first of every month.

I spent my monthly amount prematurely and waltzed into a local Ralphs the first of the month. I slid my EBT card and found out that there was no balance. I was so embarrassed at the checkout and took out my debit card to pay for my groceries. After doing more research I found out that the last number of my card was the date in which they stamps refilled. For example, if the last number on your card says 6 then you will get your monthly benefit amount on the 6th of that month.

Closing thoughts…

I am sure there are many other things I learned during my year on food stamps, but if I were going to leave you with anything…. It is to not compare your food journey with anyone else’s! We all need assistance from time to time and having CalFresh can be used as an opportunity to learn proper budgeting, nourishing, and timing for your specific lifestyle. You are allowed to love yourself through feeding your body with the nutrients it needs. Listen to how your body responds to certain foods and be mindful that we all come from different cultures, backgrounds, stages of life and body types so of course your meals will look a little different.

My APIFM internship experience – Jingtian Wu

January 3, 2019 Change, Cooking, Food, News & Updates

During my internship, my favorite activity was APIFM’s produce stand at Little Tokyo. It provides fresh produce to local residences, and it educates local businesses about the fact that a lot of people are receiving government benefits. It unites the community together. By tracking how many people are on governmental benefits, such as medical and EBT card, we are trying to convince local businesses to accept EBT cards. Other interns from UCLA and I went to every single store in Little Tokyo talking about our produce stand and posting flyers on their window. I feel that it is such an excellent chance for us as interns to know the local communities by visiting all the stores. I am a pro in Little Tokyo now! : )

I did nutrition education with other interns at Koreatown Youth and Community Center. We led the elementary students and preschoolers to do physical activity. Also, we educated them about seeds and gardening. I feel that it is so hard to teach them about nutrition because they do not understand and a lot of them are picky eaters. Reflecting on what I read in the book Fearless Feeding, I realize the best way to educate them about foods is to expose them to a variety of flavors and encourage them to try new things. Even though they are picky eaters and sometimes they will try something and spit them out, they are still open to trying new flavors especially when it is a group activity. There was a girl who refused most of the items we gave her, but she decided to try when she saw her friends all tried. They held the foods counting down from three and ate together. Even though they ended up running to the trash and spitting out all the foods, it was still nice to see that they were willing to try. I feel this kind of group activity of trying new things is also a form of family table. When kids look at their friends and family are having something they haven’t have before, they will be more willing to try. It proves that the family table is a great way to raise a non-picky eater.

In November 2018, I supported APIFM’s outreach tabling in Chinese American neighborhoods as well as nutriton workshops at Chinatown Service Center. Gladly, I met so many friendly first-generation Chinese immigrants. They came to our workshops for free cooking and Tai Chi classes. We did fundraising on the afternoon of Nov 10th to get money for the stretch band to help elders who come to our class exercise. People are very supportive. We collected enough money to purchase 30 stretch band in one day.

It is good to know that we have an organization that serves Asians and Pacific Islanders specifically. A lot of the things that they are doing benefit the entire community. It makes me want to contribute more to my community. As someone who holds a degree in nutrition, I can do something to promote the wellness and health of the community holistically.

Jingtian Wu interned with APIFM in Fall 2018 as part of a community rotation for her dietetic program at Pepperdine University.

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Launch of Foods Roots Produce Pantry with KIWA!

March 6, 2018 Cooking, Food, News & Updates

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our first Food Roots Produce Pantry project in partnership with Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance! Read more in the press release below (PDF):

API FORWARD MOVEMENT LAUNCHES FRESH PRODUCE PANTRY WITH KOREATOWN IMMIGRANT WORKERS ALLIANCE

Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement (APIFM), a Los Angeles-based community health organization, is launching its first Food Roots Produce Pantry Project in partnership with Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), a multi-ethnic community-based organization focused on organizing low-wage immigrant workers in workers’ rights, equitable development, and immigrant justice.

The pantry will bring 1600 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, all sustainably grown by local small farms, to KIWA community members and affordable housing tenants from March 2018 through July 2018. The project will also include monthly healthy cooking classes where pantry participants learn to cook recipes using vegetables and fruits from the pantry.

The first Food Roots Produce Pantry distribution event will occur on March 6, 2018 at 6:00 PM at KIWA’s office, located at 1053 S New Hampshire Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006.

The project is made possible due to individual donors as well as funding from Capital Group and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Champions for Change – Healthy Communities initiative. APIFM and KIWA share a commitment to increasing access to healthy food and health justice for Asian Americans and other communities of color in Koreatown, a neighborhood where over a quarter of families live below the federal poverty line.

Learn more about APIFM at https://apifm.org, and its Food Roots social enterprise at http://foodroots.co. APIFM is a division of Special Service for Groups, Inc. Learn more about KIWA at http://kiwa.org.

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