When Marci Maxey’s father moved to Texas to take care of her ailing grandmother last August, the Sacramento resident found herself alone for the first time in her life.
She was taking classes at a community college and didn’t have a job. She had some money from her family, but it wasn’t enough to live on. “There were times when I felt that maybe I’m not going to be able to have enough food,” she said.
Because Maxey qualified for her college’s work-study program, she was eligible for food stamps under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in California. To qualify for SNAP, an individual’s net income must not exceed the federal poverty level — $12,060 in 2017.
Maxey was hesitant at first, having been raised to be self-sufficient and not take government help, she said. Yet she hasn’t gone hungry since.
College students — particularly those in two-year community colleges — risk going hungry more often than Americans might think, according to a study released Tuesday by the Urban Institute, a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C.
To continue reading this story by Kellen Browning, go to: http://californiahealthline.or...-college-experience/
Comments (0)