As Chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee, Assembly Woman Evans has shepherded a number of bills through her committee that would improve the Food Stamp Program in California. In addition to her work as Chair, Assembly Woman Evans introduced legislation to help connect recipients of MediCAL in California with Food Stamps. Assembly woman Evans is committed to action "to remove bureaucratic barriers keeping millions of children from getting the help they need.” For these words and for her legislative efforts that back up those words, Noreen Evans is worthy of recognition.  For more details on her food stamp efforts visit:

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a07/press/a072006022.htm

Last year he authored a successful bill to help directly certify food stamp recipient families for the school meal programs. This both ensures that low-income families receive federally subsidized meals in school, and saves money for school districts on paperwork.

This year Assembly Member Laird provided a sequel: AB 3029, which would streamline food stamp reporting and move from quarterly to six month reporting.  Assembly Member Laird really understands the need to improve access to the food stamp program as a part of our efforts to stem the obesity health crisis.  For his longtime dedication to the underserved in California, we feel he richly deserves this Stampy Award.

For more details on Mr. Laird's food stamp efforts visit:  http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/issues/Issue.04-27-2006/news/Article.news_5

Already successful with prior food stamp legislation, Assemblyman Mark Leno continues to pursue improvements to the program. This year he authored AB2384 – Healthy Food Purchase Program that requires the Department of Health Services to develop a “Healthy Food Purchase” pilot program to provide incentives to increase purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income communities.   AB 2384, should provide long-needed assistance to small, neighborhood grocers so that they can improve their offerings of fresh produce. What a win for shoppers in neighborhoods that lack a major supermarket and for small business people! The bill will also allow food stamp shoppers to get cash back for their produce purchase, which promises to give shoppers one more incentive to increase their fruit and veggie consumption. Great thanks to Assembly Member Leno for his work to improve the health of communities in California.

For more details on Mr. Leno's food stamp efforts visit:  http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a13/press/a132006024.htm

While best known for his efforts to improve school nutrition, Governor Schwarzenegger took major steps to improve food stamps.  Most recently, the Governor signed AB 2384 into law.  This bill will help bring fresh produce to low-income neighborhoods and help food stamp shoppers be better able to afford these healthy items.  Governor Schwarzenegger is the first Governor in the nation to take such bold action to utilize food stamps as a tool in improving public health.

The Governor has emerged as a supporter of food stamp improvements: "I  support efforts to increase participation in the Food Stamps Program through improved outreach efforts and more streamlined administrative requirements."

For more details on the Governor's Food Stamp Efforts, visit: http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/3874/

The First Lady has emerged as one of the strongest voices for increased food stamp participation.  Through her speaking and writing, First Lady Shriver has encouraged low-income Californians to check out the "new food stamp program" and has helped to highlight the role food stamps can play in healthy eating. 

Through her Poverty Conference and her "Connect California" campaign, the First Lady has demonstrated her leadership and commitment to helping families make ends meet.  Her food stamp efforts have helped remove the "stigma" from the program and have inspired other policymakers to take action to improve the program.

For more details on the First Lady's Efforts, visit: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/July/21/edit/stories/02edit.htm

Franks has made Food Stamp Outreach a strategic priority for the California Nutrition Network.  Frank developed the Food Stamp Access Improvement Plan (FSAIP), the first Food Stamp Outreach Plan for the State.  He developed a nonprofit pilot project that provided a USDA matching funding mechanism for local food banks and community organizations to provide Food Stamp Outreach services to priority areas. This created a new funding source for Food Stamp outreach activities.

Susan Foerster joined the California Department of Health in 1973 as a Public Health Nutrition Consultant where she created and led large nutrition campaigns to prevent cancer and other diet-related diseases and more recently focusing on improving the lifestyle and opportunities for food stamp eligible populations.  Her leadership created the California 5 a Day—for Better Health! Campaign a program that went National into every state in the nation.  Sue also created the California Nutrition Network for Healthy, Active Families, the largest social marketing network in the USDA Food Stamp Nutrition Education efforts. 

The Network’s programs in California help 7 million low-income parents and children eat more fruits and vegetables, get daily physical activity, and increase the availability of healthy, fresh food and safe daily physical activity.  They work through USDA’s Food Stamp Program to help eliminate health disparities.  Growing from 4 local projects in 1996 to over 150 currently has resulted in fruit and vegetable consumption rising in low-income Californians, a departure from national trends.

Over the last several years, Sue has provided leadership on the issue of "Bonus Value" Food Stamps. Her vision has greatly influenced recent policy efforts and inspired nutrition advocates to pursue successful legislation.

"Mike has spent his entire state career at CDSS working in Food Stamps. He has worked in operations, policy, you name it, and has a level of program expertise that has no equal. He has developed stellar working relationships with all levels of government--county, state and federal--and with the advocate community. He is an Ambassador for the Food Stamp Program and improves the program image just by continuing to be a part of it. His program knowledge has saved the state and counties many a misstep. By being an anchor in a sea of shifting personnel he has provided a much needed level of stability. The county food stamp coordinators love him (or at least they laugh at his jokes) and any bitter pill that CDSS is asking them to swallow is sweetened by his humor, wit and integrity. Counties may not like what he is saying but they can count on him to be truthful and straightforward. The same applies to state and federal staff. He is much respected and can be counted on in any situation. I have never heard a disparaging word re Mike in all my years at CDSS and I have been a colleague from his first day of state service."

Gil has taken the lead in preparation of the Planning and Reporting to the USDA for several years and has made himself available to all staff who have been in need of guidance through these processes. He has given 150+% effort in adhering to the USDA's requests.

The year of 2005: Fresno County Board of Supervisors generated the first in the State Proclamation stating that the County of Fresno is committed to promoting healthy eating, good nutrition and active lifestyles, and that the Food Stamp Program contributes to the current and future health and well being of the people of Fresno County, and the Board of Supervisors proclaimed the year leading to the 2005 holiday season as Food and Nutrition Access Year in Fresno County. Acknowledging that the Food Stamp Program is the first line of defense against food insecurity and malnutrition, and the Food Stamp Program supports local farmers and federal benefit dollars could potentially contribute an additional $88 million to Fresno County's economy, with an economic multiplier effect of 1.84 resulting in an economic gain of $161.9 million. The Fresno County Board of Supervisors call upon the communities of Fresno County to work with state and federal agencies to improve access to the Food Stamp Program to strengthen this region's people and economy and to improve the health of our County. Adopted unanimously 12/14/2004. As a result of this commitment, Fresno County Supervisor Judy Case led the Get Fit Fresno County Campaign, a yearlong public awareness project to encourage healthier lifestyles. Participating county agencies are providing free monthly fact sheets featuring locally grown fruits and vegetables and specific exercise tips to promote healthy eating and active living. These fact sheets can be downloaded from the county website. And, in '05-06, Fresno County increased Food Stamp Enrollment. Fresno County Dept. of Community Health and community organizations have committed to food security and food stamp participation as part of the Central California Obesity Prevention Project (CCROPP).

The County Board of Supervisors have passed several motions in recent years to improve participation in the Food Stamps Program. Most recently, all five Supervisors signed a letter to the Governor and Legislature urging adoption of AB2384. In 2000 and 2001, the Board grappled with the County's high food stamps error rate, supporting the Department of Social Services efforts to re-organize the "change reporting" procedures and dramatically reducing the error rate. Most significantly, the Board responded quickly to food insecurity data in 2004, directing the department to expand efforts to enroll eligible households outside the welfare offices. Today, over twenty DPSS staff gather applications daily from hungry families at a variety of community locations across Los Angeles County.

Luis Miguel has arranged televised news stories dispelling the public charge barriers.  He has actively engaged Spanish language media in Southern California on food stamp issues.

For more detail on his work, visit:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-stamp13oct13,1,224178.story?coll=la-headlines-california

"Worked for years with Central Coast Hunger Coalition tracking state and federal hunger legislation. Provided input in improving the standard state food stamp application. As a Senior Analyst at HRA, responded and responds to communication from agencies doing food stamp outreach and application assistance. Took the lead for HRA from 2002-2004 in managing the USDA Food Stamp outreach grant."

"Elizabeth is a bilingual bicultural person who has made easier access to the food stamp program to the monolingual Spanish speakers in our community."

The Nutrition program of the Kern County Department of Public Health has been going into the schools and holding A-Z salad bars, and farmers markets for students and parents. This has brought awareness about the importance of eating 5 a day as well as to show parents the varieties of fruits and vegetables they can purchase with food stamps. Recipe cards featuring fruits and vegetables have been given out as well.

"....Given LA's size, it is faced by issues and problems that could prove daunting for the timid. However, LaTanya is one classy lady who improves the Food Stamp Program with her strength of character, professionalism, diplomacy and expert program knowledge. She good naturedly takes the teasing and is respected by all. LaTanya shows great compassion for the low income citizens that are served by DPSS. She demonstrates great respect for clients and seeks to protect their dignity, confidentiality and to ensure that they receive the benefits to which they are entitled. The image and reputation of the Food Stamp Program is continually enhanced by the very essence that is LaTanya.

Jerry, as Senior Analyst at Monterey County, oversees food stamp outreach and projects. Irene travels all over Monterey County, logging thousands of miles of travel, visiting small towns and agencies, visiting food distributions, promoting the food stamp program and providing applications. Jerry has made mail in applications available to other groups doing outreach in the Central Coast area. Jerry is active in attending the Central Coast Hunger Coalition, which has been working on improving food stamp policy at the state and federal level for many years.  Irene continually reaches out to our counties hard to serve customers by utilizing her bilingual skills (Spanish) and compassion to really make a difference in her community. She tirelessly works on a “one on one” basis to ensure that applicants complete their paperwork as well as following up with her supervisor on customer contacts to assist them in resolving issues in their cases if they arise.
In 2005 Ms. Fematt received the Monterey County Department of Social and Employment Services Extra Mile Award, given to select employees that go above and beyond the expectations of their assignment to deliver the top quality customer service. Ms. Fematt’s goal is to ensure that each person she assists receives every benefit they are entitled to, and her actions prove that every day. Ms. Fematt completes her outreach activities in an exemplary manner and is definitely deserving of a Stampy.

Ms. Martinez has worked for many years to foster innovative policies and partnerships to increase Food Stamp Participation and make the Food Stamp Program in Alameda County more accessible to those clients that are the hardest to reach. Ms. Martinez has built strong relationships with many community based organizations. These efforts have resulted in countywide bi-lingual food stamp trainings for community based organizations and the successful implementation of an outreach project in Oakland’s multi-ethnic community. Ms. Martinez was also instrumental in working with a Congressional Hunger Fellow to write "Improving Food Stamps in Alameda County and Beyond", which provided an in-depth analysis of Alameda County’s internal process and how the county interfaced with community food stamp outreach efforts. Also, Ms. Martinez freely shares her time, talent and expertise to improve the Food Stamp Program. Whenever asked, Ms Martinez readily volunteers to serve on a food stamp policy subcommittee, to give a presentation or to assist state staff in figuring out how something works in the 'real world'.

Leo's efforts to improve the food stamp program deserve recognition.   He launched the successful "Food Stamps in a Day" program in San Francisco at St. Anthony Foundation, which seeks to streamline and shorten the application process.

Leo was also a pioneer in utilizing the restaurant meals program to help food stamp recipients who do not have access to food storage or cooking facilities use their food stamps.

He has been a leader identifying ways to improve access for homeless individuals by processing at Project Homeless Connect events in San Francisco.  He is a regional leader on the issue having recently spoken at three HUD/USDA sponsored events to increase access to food stamps by people who are homeless (Oakland, Sacramento and Phoenix, AZ). 

"Pam and Kathi have been strong partners with the Food Bank in our efforts to improve access to the benefit. They have distributed applications to cbos and encouraged eligibility workers to consider waiving the face-to-face interviews. Pam and Kathi have presented at 3 Food Bank sponsored trainings entitled "Myths and Facts about Food Stamps" which provided information to community based agencies seeking to assist their clients in completing food stamp applications and getting benefits. These trainings have received consistently high ratings. Pam and Kathi's efforts to prompt organizational change within the district offices are ongoing."

"Dawn Robinson has been a committed advocate for Food Stamps in Orange County for the past seven years or more. When the California Nutrition Network allowed us to work on Food Stamp issues and collaboration, Dawn brought together the ONLY collaborative in the state to work on this single issue. School districts, our Food Stamp offices (SSA), Second Harvest Food Bank, CBOs in the county, farmers market managers, and others were all invited to meetings to strategize how to reach our Food Stamp eligible population in the best way. She did a wonderful job to facilitate, lead, and direct the group's energy to create EBT and Food Stamp handouts in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese to help inform the public about OC Food Stamp programs, Farmers Markets, and partners and helped make working with the Food Stamp "Director" in the county easy and accessible. This was a major win-win for all in the collaborative. Lastly, she made sure that Food Stamps made the agenda of potential partners meetings & gatherings. She has been an inspiration, especially as a government employee, who knows the benefits of Food Stamps. My vote is for Dawn! Thank you for the opportunity to recognize some of our best advocates in our communities." 

for more details on Dawn's work visit:  http://5aday.webregpro.com/pdfpresentations/2H%20Robinson%20Dawn.pdf

Patty has worked tirelessly with Lynn Meineke in her agency to pave the way for the FOOD STAMPS IN FOUR HOURS outreach project at the Orange County Food Bank. We now process 60+ families through the f/s program every month.

Joelle has consistently made time during a busy and hectic schedule to work with community partners to improve food stamp outreach. She has attended training clinics and worked individually with outreach workers to explain a complex system of food stamp qualifications.

"Bill Vaughn has worked tirelessly as a Section Manager in the San Francisco Food Stamp program since 1999 to accurately implement Federal and State Food Stamp regulations. Bill also actively participates on the Northern California CWDA panel and on the State CWDA panel and the Food Stamp Rapid Action Team (FRAT) to assist in regulation implementation to the Counties. Bill also has quickly adapted to any new technology and is a critical part of implementing SFIS, EBT, and CalWIN in San Francisco and generous with his knowledge, volunteering with several counties (Contra Costa, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno) to assist with their implementation of CalWIN. Bill brings careers worth of Food Stamp experience to the table, earned in AFDC, Quality Control, Overpayments/issuances and most recently the San Francisco FSP. During Bill's tenure in San Francisco's Food Stamp program, the caseload has gone up, the error rate down and staffing levels have stayed flat. Way to go Bill!"

"The movie "Joel Campos Promotes Food Stamps", is one of the longest running pictures on the Central Coast! It opened in 2002 with a 2 year USDA food stamp outreach grant, and then continued its record breaking run under California Nutrition Network Funding, now heading into its 5th year. Playing at food distribution- Food For Children, USDA, church pantries, soup kitchens, etc, this inspiring film has moved literally thousands of area residents to apply for food stamps, as well as informing of the value of healthy eating. The star of this film exudes passion and enthusiasm for the food stamp program and nutrition. We would like to nominate Joel for "Best Actor in an Outreach Movie on Food Stamps"

As a community service Professional Exchange has provided a Food Stamp Hotline using the 800-870-FOOD number, and live, 24/7, in at least 3 languages provides information about food stamps and where the closest office to apply is located; information on commodity distribution sites and times, food pantries and connections to the Community Food Bank, to WIC offices, and to Summer Lunch Sites. Organized by lists from Community Based Organizations and the Fresno Food Stamp Advocates Task Group, PESC has handled hundreds of calls, with good, local information. During E&TA office hours, they directly patch callers through to the Food Stamp Office. Local advocates have conducted training with the PESC staff, and having one number with good information has been invaluable to increasing food stamp enrollment in the county. Using the one number in published material keeps all information on the food stamp program current. The PESC gives monthly updates on use of the Food Stamp Hotline to advocates. They are interested in doing a statewide number on the same, zip code specific information basis.

Organized staff from a wide range of community agencies in Alameda County to pre-screen clients for food stamp eligibility and fax the info to the Food Bank for application assistance, contributing to the growth in food stamp recipients in Alameda County.

Elizabeth has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Not only has she created and solidified a network of community based organizations; she has also linked them with the county services staff to create communication between the two groups to better aid the community members who are applying for the Food Stamp Program. During the initial year of the outreach program at the Food Bank there was a county wide jump in participation rates of 28 percent; Elizabeth was a critical part of that increase. Since then, Elizabeth has been integral in the steady increase in Food Stamp enrollment and outreach efforts to many different communities including Latino, Chinese and Vietnamese. Please choose Elizabeth Gomez for her valiant effort at eliminating hunger in her community.

"Lee is simply amazing. He is absolutely dedicated to ensuring people have access to healthy food, has formed amazing partnerships to further his vision, and gets fantastic media coverage. He is tireless in his work and the results are evident in the food bank's food stamp outreach work, EBT at farmers' markets, coalition work, ability to blend the anti-hunger advocates with the nutrition people, and county FSP cooperation."

Since 2001, Lee has tirelessly promoted the mission of the food stamp program…“to increase food security and to reduce hunger by providing children and low income people with food, a healthy diet and nutrition education.”

Lee’s efforts include (but are not limited to!):

· Legislative advocacy at the local, state and federal level for greater access to the Food Stamp program by reducing barriers and streamlining the program.
· Wrote and managed Food Stamp outreach grants from the USDA and the California Nutrition Network. Lee has been a leader on the Central Coast to implement community-based Food Stamp outreach, application assistance and nutrition education.
· Supported the implementation of the use of the Food Stamp EBT card at local farmer’s market and promoted the program to the public.
· Manages the Second Harvest Food Bank hotline providing callers with food access information including Food Stamp program information.
· Through his work with the 5 A Day campaign, Lee has provided education to the agricultural and grocery industry on the economic benefits of Food Stamps.
· As the co-chair of the Central Coast Hunger Coalition, Lee has promoted the local agenda of healthy eating, Food Stamp participation, the Summer Lunch program, supporting local farmers and other anti-hunger and nutrition initiatives.

While working for Healthy Start, Liberty got involved with the nutrition program and really covered some ground promoting good nutrition. She also began introducing a new vegetable activity within elementary schools. Provided nutrition information/activities at community events all leading to many parents spending their food stamps on more nutritious meals for their children. She currently works part time with Konocti Unified School District in Food Services while she completes her education.

Gail Priestley is a Director at St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. She has been a tireless advocate for food security for the poor for over 15 years. Most recently, Gail worked with the San Francisco Department of Human Services to pilot an innovative program to increase local participation in the Food Stamp Program by launching "Food Stamps in a Day" at St. Anthony Foundation. This effort has made the attainment of Food Stamps more accessible to residents of the Tenderloin.

Gail is an excellent organizer to bring the voice of the poor to Sacramento to improve nutrition and food security. Through her leadership abilities as the co-chair of the California Hunger Action Committee, she was instrumental in coordinating the training for the 2006 California Hunger Action Day.

Gail is an effective and passionate educator on the nexus between poverty, malnutrition and the Food Stamp Program. She is passionate in her message that the Food Stamp Program should not be viewed solely as a welfare program, but also as a food and nutrition program.

In October 2005, Imperial County kicked off their food stamp outreach project, by hiring an outreach coordinator to work 10 hours a week and began working with the County. In the beginning, the county wanted them only to hand out pamphlets. Once the food bank realized that this was not helpful, they worked with the county to assist people with the application. The Food Bank has since helped nearly 100 families apply for and receive food stamps, one family receiving more than $500 a month in food stamp benefits, representing almost as much as the Food Bank spends on a monthly basis for the outreach program. The Food Bank is currently working with the county to implement a mail in application process and more liberal face-to-face waiver policy - essential in this rural county where many of the households have limited or no transportation and work or have children. Their project is making a difference and Alba is a hometown hunger hero!

Utilizing his skills in sales and background as a food stamp suerpvisor, Jerry has developed a client friendly "Food Stamps in 4 Hours" Outreach campaign. Food Stamp eligibles are lead through a group application assistance session at a familiar community site by food bank personnel. Child care is provided, as are "goodie bags" for those present. Workshop attendees are transported together to and from the nearest social services office to complete the finger imaging requirement.

Jerry has built this well received model in cooperation with county food stamp administrators and other partners, including the Mexican Consulate. This model has now been replicated in other communities. Jerry has become a popular speaker on this topic of food stamp outreach, and USDA had highlighted this model as of its recommended "Best Practices."

Recently, the Community Action Partnership of Orange County became the first non-profit in the state to gain access to portable finger imaging equipment. This eliminated the need for applicants to visit the local food stamp office altogether. This program improvement has cut the amount of time required for applicants to complete the application process -- all without ever needing to leave their own community.

The San Diego Hunger Coalition, its members, its board and its staff have worked tirelessly to bring attention to the issue of low-participation in the Food Stamp Program in the county, named as the lowest in participation in the country by FRAC's 2005 report. They have created a Food Stamp Outreach and Access Committee, signed up 12 county partners to prescreen and take applications, worked with the county to develop a mail in application procedure and waive a face-to-face interview for hardship reasons. They prepared a map to determine which areas have the lowest participation in the county and have presented these maps along with other research concerning the County's low-participation rate with local elected officials to discuss both legislative and non-legislative strategies to reversing this trend. Tia Anzellotti from SDHC is pictured to left.

The Selma Flea Market is the first in the nation to organize their produce vendors in a 'farmers market' within the flea market, obtain USDA authorization and an FNS number, create a script system and employ a person to do the transactions. Thereby, expanding food stamp purchasing of fresh fruits and vegetables to the thousands of people in rural Fresno County. In the first year of offering food stamp purchases in the weekly open air market, the Selma Flea Market did over $30,000 in EBT business. Good for farmers and business, and really good for food stamp families!

Leslie Sunny, Food Bank for Monterey County

"The Food Bank has a designated area for a FS outreach worker and as clients come to the FB for emergency food they are directed to see the outreach worker. This person gives information to the client and assists them in filling in the paper work.
The Food Bank has started a "Family Market" and they go in to the low income areas and bring the food to the people. They bring beautiful fresh produce and other food products to the community. At some sites as many as 560 people are served. The average size bag is 60#. At each of the Family Market (one time a week, in a different part of the county) the Food Stamp outreach worker has a table for information and forms. There are 4 sites reaching through out the county and through these sites people are getting information and assistance with Food Stamps.
Through many avenues the Food Bank for Monterey County has been a champion in bringing the information to the people who need it. They are truly shining stars."

After retiring from the Human Services Department, Millie used her years of experience working on Food Stamps issues to help others advocate and do outreach. She specifically helped our Food Bank get our Food Stamp Outreach program started and freely offered advice and encouragement.