Hunger & Food Security Hearing at SF Board of Supervisors

On April 13, 2016, the Budget and Finance Sub Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will discuss an issue near and dear to the hearts of us here at St. Anthony’s: hunger and food insecurity in San Francisco.

Over the past 65 years, St. Anthony’s has served 40 million meals to San Franciscans struggling with hunger and food insecurity.  The idea of “hunger” is familiar to most of us: the physical condition that results from not having enough to eat.  “Food insecurity” is a term that has come in to popular use over the past decade, and it refers to the economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.  So, what’s the difference?  Think of it this way: hunger is often a consequence of food insecurity, but addressing food insecurity means not just helping someone eat a meal today, but helping them to ensure they know where their next healthy meal will be coming from tomorrow and in the future.

Food security is a multifaceted issue related to health, income, adequate housing, access to places to buy or obtain food, and the ability to cook or prepare food at home.  At St. Anthony’s we see that hunger and food insecurity among our guests can be caused by multiple factors, including:

• Income and expenses.  When a person’s income is so low or their non-food expenses are so high that they can’t afford to buy food or they can only afford inexpensive non-nutritious food that only serves to fill the stomach and create a feeling of satiation, a person is experiencing hunger or food insecurity.
• Homelessness or the inability to prepare food at home.   There are approximately 7,000 homeless people in San Francisco.  Additionally, U.S. Census numbers indicate that 19,000 San Francisco households live in residences without access to kitchen facilities.  Many of these are Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels.  Homeless people and SRO residents without access to kitchens are unable to cook their own food at home, creating a significant barrier to food security.
• Inadequate government benefits or safety net services.  Food security is also hampered when it is difficult for low-income people to access benefits that help connect them with food.
  • California has one of the lowest rates of participation in SNAP (“food stamps”) of any state in the nation.  Increasing outreach and reducing the paperwork and other administrative burdens for SNAP recipients has been a cornerstone of St. Anthony’s advocacy agenda for years.  While we have made strides in enacting legislation that improves the administration of the program, including implementing six-month rather than quarterly income reporting for recipients, removing the finger imaging requirement for applicants, and expanding eligibility for the program by removing the statewide ban for people with previous drug-related convictions, connecting eligible Californians with SNAP is still a challenge across the state.
  • California seniors and people living with disabilities who receive SSI (Supplemental Security Income) are ineligible for SNAP benefits and are challenged to survive on grant levels that are below the Federal Poverty Level.  Poverty and food insecurity among SSI recipients is a problem throughout the state of California, not just in San Francisco.  During the recession, drastic cuts were made to the state portion of the grant, resulting in a loss of $77 per month for a single adult SSI recipients.  Today, the maximum grant for a single person who receives SSI is $889 per month, which is only 90% of the Federal Poverty Level.  SSI recipients struggle with hunger, homelessness or high housing cost burdens, and medical conditions that are often exacerbated by poor nutrition or lack of access to healthy food.
• Lack of access to stores or markets that sell healthy foods.  Residents of the Tenderloin who can afford to buy groceries face significant challenges to accessing healthy foods in their neighborhood.  Most residents of the neighborhood are dependent on neighborhood-based food sellers that are accessible through public transit or on foot, and the neighborhood lacks an affordable full-service grocery store.  Our community has made some strides in this area, and bright spots of hope include the work of the Tenderloin Healthy Corner Store Coalition and the Bayview’s Southeast Food Access Working Group, who worked with the City to pass Healthy Food Retail Incentives legislation in 2013.

Over the past two years, the City of San Francisco has made some important investments in the food security safety net, funding additional home-delivered meals and groceries for seniors, additional SNAP outreach workers, and a pilot program called “EatSF” that provides monthly vouchers for fresh produce for a select group of Tenderloin residents with diet-related health conditions.  Maintaining funding for those programs will be an important component San Francisco’s ongoing work to promote food security city wide.  A discussion about the need to work to eliminate wait lists and expand program eligibility to those who are in need but currently unserved will surely be an important component of the April 13 hearing.

St. Anthony’s provides approximately one million meals each year to low-income San Franciscans, without government funding.  We are part of San Francisco’s anti-hunger safety net, and are proud to advocate for the livable incomes, affordable housing, adequate government benefits, and essential health supports that are necessary components for a food secure community.  The April 13 Food Security hearing will be a good opportunity for all those interested in ending hunger and promoting food security to understand what San Francisco needs to do in order to achieve food security, which can only be accomplished as a community effort.