06.22.2020 COVID-19 Briefing Live Stream Transcript

The County of Santa Clara
June 22, 2020
Live Stream - Live with the County of Santa Clara
10am PT

Antoinnae Comeaux: Good morning and thank you for joining us. My name is Antoinnae Comeaux, public information officer with the county of Santa Clara emergency operations center. Today we will be discussing food insecurities and how COVID -19 is impacting our community members. We will also have information on available resources to help people during these difficult times.
But first, lets bring you up to date with information from our COVID-19 data dashboard. As of yesterday, the total number of confirmed cases was 3547. With the total number of deaths at 152, with 0 new deaths. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones. We also would like to let you know that our face coverings have been removed so that everyone, including our ASL interpreters can clearly understand what we are sharing with you all this morning.
Now, imagine the family having to go to sleep at night hungry. It happens right here in Santa Clara County and the current global pandemic has created even greater food and security challenges. According to Forbs, it's estimated nearly 22 to 30 eight percent of US households are currently food insecure. That number nearly doubles the norm due to a public health crisis. A percentage of those experiencing food insecurity are right here in Santa Clara County. And while this crisis affects the homeless population, communities across Silicon Valley are also being affected by the growing challenges of food insecurities.
So, with me today I have Jo Seavey, healthcare program manager with our CalFresh Healthy Living Program. She joins me this morning to discuss food insecurity and how individuals and families can get the help they need right here in Santa Clara County. Thank you so much for being here Jo.

Jo Seavey-Hultquist: Oh, thanks for having me.

AC: So, I know a lot of folks, you know are facing lots of difficult times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you please tell us a little bit more about food insecurity in Santa Clara County, and how it's affecting our community?

JS: Absolutely. So, even before the pandemic there were about 7 to 8% of our families that were food insecure in Santa Clara County. And so, what do I mean by food insecurity. That means that folks actually don't have enough food to last them throughout the whole month. And they can't afford to buy fresh healthy food. With the pandemic, those numbers have actually increased. The projections are that around 12% of families are now food insecure. People are really, really suffering. Second Harvest Silicon Valley has actually shared some data with us that shows that twice as many people are going to their food distributions, accessing food, and they're also giving about twice as much poundage of food out. So, it's a real problem. But thankfully, we have some resources available to help.

AC: Yeah, it's great to hear that we do have resources to help folks in need. So, we know here in the county we've always been challenged with food insecurity but now of course we have a global health crisis. How has the COVID-19 pandemic really made it more of a challenge for the folks in our community.

JS: Yeah, so COVID-19 has really had, you know a whammy on everybody.  But especially, there's a whole bunch of people that are now newly unemployed. So, lots of folks had jobs, full-time jobs, or even part-time jobs. Now their hours have been reduced or their jobs have been absolutely eliminated. And for a lot of us, we are living paycheck to paycheck already and so that's been devastating. Because now how are we supposed to afford food? Also, we all know that the schools closed really early and you may know that a lot of kids, they actually get their meals at schools, right. So, for through the free and reduced lunch program. And so, once that happened. Where were kids supposed to get their meals? So, schools. Thankfully, they all stepped up. Which is wonderful! But, it's still really hard for families because not every single school was able to still deliver these school meals, even though it was a drive-up situation.
There were places in the county that were closed, so families still had to figure out how to get there. And that's been really challenging. And then finally, we have our senior population. Folks like my dad would go to a senior nutrition program, that's a hot lunch meal by the city of San Jose in collaboration with the County of Santa Clara. And they would go and socialize with their friends and eat. So, all of those programs shut down as well. So now, they can go and pick up like a bagged lunch. But, as we all know, seniors are really most vulnerable in our community for COVID-19. So, a lot of seniors are scared, they do not want to do that. So, you know, they're missing meals. Which is just horrible.

AC: Thank you for sharing that. It's really important for us to understand how folks who have never been food insecure before are now facing it as a result of COVID-19. Can you tell us a little bit more about uh, those? The families who are you know now newly insecure. And really kind of explain why there's a misconception, that food insecurity is really just a problem for those facing homelessness.

JS: Right. So, obviously, we need to keep in mind our homeless, they are one of the most vulnerable populations. They are really suffering. We need to get them housed. We need to get them fed. But there are additional people that are now suffering from food insecurity. For example, a single dad that has three kids who was working for a high-tech company has now been laid off. He was the sole breadwinner. How was he going to feed his family? So, that's part of the new food insecure population. We also have like couples, that were starting a new business. I know of a couple who were starting a brand-new business. It's taken a while for that business to get up and running and then all of a sudden COVID-19 hits, It shuts down their business. They don't really have a big customer race and so they're really suffering. And now they don't have enough money to spend on food. And then finally, is the idea of lots of individuals or making their own way right.
So, you have my hairdresser, folks that are also like my neighbor, who's an Uber driver, people that are graphic designers. So, these are sort of more an independent contractor type people, they've lost all their clients. So, they don't have us enough money to spend on food. So, we're really seeing the shifting phase of folks that are being food insecure.

AC: Thank you for explaining that change for us. Now, can you talk a little bit more about how combating food insecurity is really about providing people with healthy and nutritious food?

JS: Sure, so the program that I manage for the Public Health Department here at the County of Santa Clara is called the Cal Fresh Healthy Living Program. The purpose of that program is to provide nutrition education. Also, to increase consumption of healthy food and promote programs that provide access to healthy food. The focus of that is for folks that are on the Cal fresh food program and the Cal fresh food program is for low-income people, to help them stretch their food dollars. It's a cash benefit program on a card that looks like an EBT, it's called an EBT card, looks like an ATM card. And so, my program also works with many community partners to promote healthy food access.
The first one I want to share with you is called market match, that exists at farmer's markets. So, there are many farmers markets in our community, we are so lucky to have them. They provide fresh healthy food. Uh, you can take your Cal fresh EBT card, go to a market, go to the information booth and swipe your card just like a credit card. And say I want to spend $10 off my card. They will give you ten dollars to spend at the market and then they'll give you an additional ten dollars to match. So, out of my own pocket I'm only spending ten dollars and I get twenty dollars’ worth of free produce. It's a fantastic program. One of the major partners on that is Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association, along with fresh approach and the Social Services Agency. And there's a list actually available on the Public Health website that you can look at all the different farmers markets where you can access that program, the market match program.
The second program I want to tell you about it's called, double up food bucks. It's similar, it's also a matching program. It exists at six different retailers throughout Santa Clara County, in Gilroy as well as San Jose. Um, and again you go to the market. Just say I want to buy my peaches for the summer and if they're California grown. I take them to the register. I spend my ten dollars on peaches and then I get my register receipt and at the bottom it says, hey you've got a coupon for an additional ten dollars that you can bring back next time. So, again, that's $10 out of my own pocket right, 10 more dollars I get to spend. That's called double up food bucks. Um, that program is run by spur, again with lots of great partners, first five, social services agency. And we here at the Public Health Department helped to promote that program.

AC: Great, those sounds like really great programs to promote healthy and nutritious food. So, just tell me more about what can people do? What are about, what are the resources that are available to them, the programs, and the other partners in our community who are helping to fight against hunger? And what are some of the changes to the program as a you know as a result of COVID-19? And how do individuals qualify for these different programs and resources?
JS: Yeah, those are all great questions. So, there are many wonderful programs. I really hope that folks are able to take advantage of. One I already mentioned is the Cal fresh food program that's administered by the County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency Department of Employment and benefit services. It's a cash program. Again, you get it on your your card um and then you can use that card at. Actually, you can actually use it at some restaurants in addition to add some grocery stores. And the way that people apply for that is they go to the Social Services Agency website. And the thing that's really wonderful about this, if you don't want to go through filling out a whole application, there's actually like a pre-screener on there. You can put in your information, figure out for yourself if you qualify. So, that's the Cal fresh food program. You can also access Second Harvest to Silicon Valley, wonderful organization. They actually have access to free food. Lots of distributions across the whole county. And they actually have a hotline number that you can call, it's their food connection hotline. They will actually help you screen as well to see if your Cal fresh food eligible. They will connect you with whatever the food resources are that are out there. And then, they also have a list of what's called the summer meals program.
So, as you may recall. Like I mentioned, folks were getting you know food when they were at school through the free and reduced lunch program. Well now, the same idea exists during this summer. So, kids can qualify for that. And there's actually a text number that you can text and that is 876 876. And you text the word food, you know in the little chat box there, and they send right back to you the listing of all the summer meal locations, super convenient. Love that we're using technology for all of that, right. Yay for Second Harvest. I also want to tell you about a really brand-new program that now exists due to COVID-19. It's actually called pandemic EBT, you receive again another EBT card that's loaded or at three hundred and fifty-six dollars per child. This is for children that were already on the free and reduced meals program. So, if they were going to school and getting free meals or reduced meals, they now can get this pandemic EBT card. For families that were also on additional programs like medical, that should be automatically shipped to you. So, it should automatically show up in your mailbox if you are a family that, whose child was on the, you know the school lunch program. But you also did not necessarily have another government program, you actually do need to apply. That deadline is coming up, it's July fifteenth. But you can just go to the website putting your information and that should be sent to you. So, that's a brand-new benefit, super important. Great aid for families that really need it. And then finally. I want to mention the WIC program, the women infant’s children's program. There's many WIC programs across the county, the Public Health Department actually runs one. And it's a program for pregnant women as well as for children up to the age of five. Again, it's a cash aid program, provides money to be spent at grocery stores, on important healthy nutrition for you know eggs, milk, peanut butter, bread. Things like that. And you can go to the website or you could call them and find out if you qualify, so that's just another wonderful available resource.

AC: It's really heartwarming to hear about all the different resources that are available to folks in need in our community. Well, we still know that COVID-19 is causing a lot of people to feel anxious about food insecurity. What would be your message to them?

JS: So, I would say that there are opportunities to get help and there are opportunities to give help. So, if you're still really in need of help, one other resource I want to share is called Silicon Valley strong. So, if you google that, go to the website. Again, another list of all these wonderful places in the community where you can access free foods. So, Silicon Valley strong. Also, if you're in the position to give help, because there are some people there still are in that position. That really want to help others not become food insecure. You can register at Silicon Valley strong, putting your information and they'll tell you where you can volunteer. So, that's a great resource. There are some folks that actually may have some extra dollars in their Park, pockets and really want to contribute to the community and help those in need. And so, I just wanted to mention a wonderful way to do that, there's a fund, it's called the COVID donate directly to that fund and know that your money is going specifically towards families. I've done that myself and I know that those dollars are going into my neighbor's pocket to help them buy food. That's a wonderful opportunity to do that.

AC: Thank you for sharing that Jo. Do you have any closing thoughts for us?

JS: Yeah, I do. I think what I would like to share is that, that we all go through ups and downs in our life right. This is a really hard time, people need to know that this is a really hard time. And we've all been impacted by circumstances beyond our control. So, if you need help then ask for it. And I know how hard that is. I know that for myself in the past I've been food insecure and I've needed to ask for that help. And so, I reached out to agencies and they were willing to help me. And I told myself. But in doing that that I would pay that back and I have. So, what I've done in the past is when I've had other friends that have needed food I fed them. I've bought them groceries. So, this is just something sometimes that we need to do and it's okay. and I want everybody to know that. This may not have been your circumstances in the past but perhaps it is now and just realize that we will all get through it. We just need to remember to help each other out and we'll get through it together.

AC: Thank you so much Jo. Thank you all for your time today and thanks for all that you're doing in our community to help keep us safe. You can find all of the links to the resources and the sites that we discussed today in the posting for this Facebook live. For the latest information on COVID-19 please visit the county's COVID-19 web site at www.sccgov.org forward slash coronavirus. Thank you for watching today and please continue to shelter in place while practicing social distancing.