CWDA joined more than 70 organizations today in asking Congress to pass legislation waiving onerous student eligibility rules for CalFresh (known as SNAP at the federal level). These rules severely curtail college students’ ability to participate in the program, especially at a time when nearly all students are participating in distance learning, unable to leave the house to work, and have had work-study slots canceled due to campus shutdowns.

Numerous states, including California, have sought to waive these rules during the pandemic. The Trump Administration has rejected all of these waiver requests to date.

Also today, California Reps. Gomez, Panetta and Harder introduced H.R. 6565, which would remove this barrier to college students’ access to critical nutrition benefits.

Read more:

• Coalition Letter to Congress 4-21-2020

(New!) Read letter sent by four Senators, including California Sen. Kamala Harris, to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, on April 27, 2020:

Senate Request for Flexibility 4-27-2020