SNAP-Ed in California and the CalFresh Program

by Rainaclare Sibal

Earlier this year, I interviewed* SNAP-Ed nutrition educator, Stephanie Torres, who works with Catholic Charities of Los Angeles as part of the CalFresh Program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP on the federal level.

This edition of the PHPN Blog highlights the meaningful work of Stephanie and SNAP-Ed (the educational branch of the program) in providing nutrition education to children and families in Los Angeles County.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Torres.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Torres.

R: Welcome Stephanie!

S: Hi, thank you for having me.

R: Thank you so much. Could you give us some information about who you are and some background about the work that you do?
S: Sure. I am part of the CalFresh Healthy Living team, which is also SNAP-Ed, but it has been rebranded into CalFresh Healthy Living. I work as a nutrition educator for youth education through CalFresh Healthy Living. We are also partnered with Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, which is a social services organization that gives us the opportunity to service clients within Los Angeles county. I personally help provide nutrition, physical, and gardening education to support healthy and active lifestyles for underserved communities in LA County where they might not receive this type of education or have the knowledge to stretch their income to fit healthier lifestyles.

Our team is divided into youth and adult education. Adult education primarily focuses on nutrition and physical education, and youth education also provides that, but they also incorporate gardening education as part of their curriculum. 

R: That’s nice to know that’s all provided. And what would you say a typical day of work looks like?

S: Most of our days are full school days, so classes can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the class schedule. Depending on the curricula, we have to tailor the given information to each classroom grade, which can be difficult–to find ways to make the material interesting for elementary school children vs. middle-school students. Currently we are teaching 3rd to 8th grade students in two school locations: St. Francis Cabrini and St. Ignatius of Loyola, both catholic schools here in LA County.

We follow a specific curriculum when teaching the students. We look at the curricula, make Powerpoint presentations, and find ways to make it interactive. Sometimes if we have a class on a topic that is gardening-related, we get materials for all the kids, which may be seed packets, soil, tools like hand rakes, and so forth. And before holding this activity, we would also conduct a brief lesson before getting into the activity.

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Torres.

R: That’s a good point. I imagine you work with [different age groups] and they are just different in the way they take information and act on it. Have you noticed some of the struggles you’ve 

had to encounter amidst working with the pandemic, the structure of the school day? How have you navigated that?

S: Switching to virtual education at the start of the pandemic was very challenging. We were actually one of the first CalFresh Healthy Living programs to transition into virtual teaching and learning. Many of the students and families, including the adult students, coming from underserved communities did not have access to wireless internet connection, laptops, or computers which was difficult, because they did not have the resources to obtain this form of education. It wasn’t like they [could] go to their local library or a Starbucks where they have that internet connection because at the beginning of the pandemic, everything was completely closed. So it was a challenge. Fortunately we live in California, so our state [was] actually able to provide free internet connection and computers to students in need. 

Also it was very difficult for the instructors, especially our older employees, as well because they had to adjust teaching from in-person lessons to a virtual format, which is more difficult given variables like faulty internet connection, confused parents or students, and the learning curve that came with learning how to operate Zoom. However, now that the pandemic has died down a bit, we have gone back to teaching in-person classes.

R: I saw a commercial on TV [about a major internet company] servicing so many families with internet [service] during the pandemic and that’s such a big part that you had to probably factor into your plans. That’s really cool that you were able to get that assistance.

I know you touched on this too–the individuals that you [provide] service [to]. Who are the individuals that mostly receive the services from your program and how do you hope to be able to reach more individuals in the future?

S: When they first started the program in our center, the main demographic was primarily hispanic or latino women [which is] primarily the community that we serve, and it only started as adult education. Our adult educators are largely Spanish-speaking, so that was the main demographic that we reached out to at the time. Now we have expanded into youth education, which is probably the [majority of the] individuals that receive our services since we are able to teach hundreds of students at each school.

It is more difficult to recruit adults. We previously, and still, hand out flyers by walking around neighborhoods [or] tabling at special events. And if our adult educators are teaching at specific facilities, they have to catch people as they have finished other classes at that same facility to try to recruit them into the program. So it’s a little more difficult to try to get more people into the adult nutrition program as opposed to teaching at schools where there’s a bigger audience. 

In terms of being able to reach more individuals in the future, we have started to incorporate social media into our program. I recently started an Instagram and that’s how we’ve been posting some of our flyers and our other programs to try to reach a wider audience. But we’ll also try to implement the same strategies that we’ve had in the past, such as handing out flyers. Word of mouth helps as well. So anytime we have a class with a particular student, we encourage them to spread the word amongst their friends and family. 

R: Nice. I imagine social media is probably a really good way to include both the adults and the children. A good way to get everyone on board.

And I know you touched on this already with the difficulty in recruiting more adults to the program. Are there any other access barriers that your team would like to overcome in order to reach who you want to?

S: One of the problems that we face is the issue with facility locations. For instance, at our main office we don’t have elevator access and our lessons are usually held in the classroom on the second floor. There is only a staircase for people to go upstairs. Since we don’t have elevator access, the elderly have a hard time walking up the stairs. Also, since it’s only a classroom, we don’t have kitchen space to make the cooking demonstrations. 

Mothers with children also cannot come to in-person classes because [it] is also difficult having a child during the lesson. Our program has now split virtual and in-person to accommodate everyone because we see there are different needs within the demographics that we’re teaching. 

It’s also difficult to find other locations that will accommodate our needs and schedules to each nutrition education, so it’s hard trying to build those relationships and seeing where we can actually teach the lessons. So those have been some of the barriers that we have encountered with regards to our program. 

R: That’s a really good point. I know that’s a big factor to just being able to do your job properly. It is really great to hear your perspective. What would you say is your favorite thing about working with SNAP-Ed?

S: Even before working at a non-profit organization at St. Margaret Center, I have always had a love for teaching and also for kids. For me, it has been working with the kids and seeing their progression in our program. When we go out to the garden, you can see the excitement in their eyes and how engaged they become. And when they take part in hands-on activities, they get excited when they see some of the produce that is growing in the garden. And they [realize] “wow, this is what we grew in our garden”. Usually some of the upper grades aren’t very into some of the gardening activities, but there are some who do enjoy it. I had one [8th grader student] come up to me and say, “I’m having a lot of fun, and I love what we’re learning about, and thank you for all that you do and for everything!”. And that really made my day. It warmed my heart, just having that appreciation. Just seeing that kids have different interests and we understand that, but just some of the kids really love and appreciate the education that we’re giving them. It just makes the work worthwhile.

R: Wow, that’s awesome, just to see the product of what you do and just seeing those kids have such a positive response to it is great to hear.

S: Yes!

R. Would you like to share more information on where to go to learn about entering this line of work? 

S: For entering this line of work, you can start in many directions. My coworker is currently earning some certifications from UCLA. She has gardening experience from childhood into adulthood, but she wants to gain more knowledge about gardening. She’s currently taking a sustainable food and agriculture course at UCLA. You can also get into the field of education, whether it’s earning a bachelor’s or master’s in education or a nutrition certification–there’s really many pathways to get into this line of work. I personally don’t have any of that experience, but I have a willingness and a love for the mission. I have some previous experience working with a nutrition program at our center as an assistant, and working as a literacy coordinator may have helped, but there is still a lot that I have to learn. Every day there’s always something new with regards to gardening, or teaching methods. You just learn every day. There’s always something new, but as long as you have the drive and the joy in the field, anyone can enter into this line of work.

R: That’s great to hear. So if you have the willingness to do it, you can do it, and there is a need to join your team. If you want to do it, feel free and find a way!

S: Yes, absolutely.

R: Thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences in working in SNAP-Ed and willingness to help out others through this program. Thank you for joining us, Stephanie! 

S: Thank you for having me! It’s been a pleasure.

For more information, please visit:

https://calfresh.dss.ca.gov/healthyliving/about-us

https://www.instagram.com/healthyliving.ccla/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

https://www.facebook.com/HealthyLivingCCLA?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Torres