Newsom responds after feds seek CalFresh data

A law that allowed the sharing of limitless amounts of personal data across the state to find people eligible for CalFresh was rescinded last week.

- By PHOEBE Huss

PEOPLE PICK UP food being distributed by Noel Community Organization on Saturday in Los Angeles.

(ERIC THAYER Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 593 by Assemblymember — Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, that forbids state and local departments from sharing sensitive personal data to increase food stamp enrollment.

But only a year ago, it was Wicks who introduced that same data sharing initiative to get more people enrolled in CalFresh, the state’s federally funded food assistance program.

Her bill from last year, Assembly Bill 518, granted state and local public entities involved in education, crime, employment and other areas the authority to override all state privacy laws to share data about people who could potentially get CalFresh.

CalFresh is funded by the federal government, run by the state Department of Social Services and administered locally. More than 1 in 5 Californians are food insecure. About 5 million Californians are CalFresh recipients, and the state estimates almost 2 million more are eligible and haven't signed up.

About 200,000 college students in California receive CalFresh, according to the California Department of Social Services. All recipients must complete an application process many consider time-consuming and confusing.

In May, 20,000 college students applied for CalFresh, and more than half of the applications were denied, often because the student couldn't prove they were eligible, according to the social services department. CalFresh coordinators say students are unaware of their own eligibility, making outreach important.

Through data sharing, Wicks intended to identify demographic groups as well as individuals who are eligible for CalFresh, and develop marketing that would appeal to them.