Eligibility
Below is the list of students who are eligible for CalFresh.
Please see below for specific instructions on how to apply for Calfresh for your eligibility.
STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
Students MUST be U.S. citizens, Legal Permanent Residency (LPR), or have someone in their household who is to apply for CalFresh. Students who are not eligible for CalFresh can apply for FRESH's Emergency Meal Swipes. Students MUST be currently enrolled students at UC Irvine who are enrolled in at least 6 units (We cannot help incoming students or those on leaves of absences). In addition, students MUST meet one of the following eligibilities listed below.
CalGrant A/B Students
- You will need this CalGrant TANF email, which verifies that you have a CalGrant funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It would've been sent by: studentsupport@csac.ca.gov.
- This email would've been sent to the email address you used to apply for the FAFSA - for most students.
- Below is an example of the email:
- If you can't find this email, it may mean you don't have a TANF-funded CalGrant, and you'll need to find another eligibility to qualify for CalFresh.
- TANF emails are typically sent in late September - mid-October of the academic year.
- If you're unsure whether you have a TANF email, you can email us at calfresh@uci.edu
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
DSC Students
- DSC students can email their assigned DSC counselor to request their verification form. DSC-Verification form
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Law Students
- Step 1: Law students can fill out the verification request PDF form on the School of Law Registrar website here, check “Other” and put “CalFresh”. Email pdf to registrar@law.uci.edu.
- Step 2: Download the Approved List of Programs linked here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
MAT Students
- Step 1: MAT students can email Jaycee Chu, Director of Student Affairs, at jhchu@uci.edu to request their Verification Form.
- Step 2: Download the Approved List of Programs linked here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Med Students
- Step 1: Students can request their CalFresh Verification Form from the UCI School of Medicine Registrar at:
- Step 2: Download the Approved List of Programs linked here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Student Success Initiatives (SSI)
- Students part of Student Success Initiatives (SSI) can email their assigned counselors to request their verification form.
- If you are a Summer Bridge Scholar, contact Kathy Dong, Summer Bridge & Step Program Counselor/Coordinator, kdong@uci.edu
- If you are a TRIO Scholar, contact Evani Chavez, TRIO Project Director, molinae@uci.edu
- If you are a FYRE Scholar, contact Janet Perez-Molina, Counselor/Program Coordinator - Foster Youth Resilience in Education (FYRE) & Student Parent and Families (SPF) jvperezm@uci.edu
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or watch our webinar at bit.ly/freshyt and apply on your own at bit.ly/apply-calfresh.
Work-Study
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they've been offered and accepted Federal Work-Study (not President's Work-Study).
- You don't need to have a work-study job to be eligible.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Zero EFC
Required documents:
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they have a Zero EFC (Expected Family Contribution) on their Financial Aid Award or their FAFSA Student Aid Report.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Student Parent
Required documents:
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they have a child or children under the age of 12.
- If you yourself are not a US Citizen or Legal Permanent resident, but your child is, you can still apply for benefits for them!
- Make sure you meet the prorated income limit for your household.
- Social Services will only take into account the income proportional to the number of eligible members in the household.
- Example: Both parents are not eligible, but 1 child is a citizen, so only 33% of total income is counted and held to the income guideline of a 1 person household.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Employed 20 Hours/Week
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they work at least 20 hours a week.
- Make sure income is below the income limit for your household.
- Paystubs will need to show work of 20 hours or more.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Master of Public Health (MPH)
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they are enrolled within the Master of Public health (MPH) Program at UC Irvine.
- You must request your CalFresh Verification form + class schedule from your department prior to applying.
- MPH students can request their verification form from Miguel Huerta, Student Support Coordinator, at mahuert3@uci.edu.
- Before applying, download the Approved List of Programs here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Master of Urban & Regional Planning
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they are enrolled within the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) at UC Irvine
- You must request your CalFresh Verification form + class schedule from your department prior to applying
- MURP Students can request their verification form from Hannah Campbell, Assistant Director, MURP, at hcampbe1@uci.edu
- Before applying, download the Approved List of Programs here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Master of Public Policy (MPP)
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they are enrolled within the Master of Public Policy (MPP) at UC Irvine.
- You must request your CalFresh Verification form + class schedule from your department prior to applying.
- MPP Students can request their verification form from Amira Yousef, Assistant Director, Master of Public Policy at ayousef@uci.edu.
- Before applying, download the Approved List of Programs here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
Nursing (BS/MS/Doctorate) Students
- Students qualify for CalFresh if they are enrolled within the B.S, M.S. (MEPN), and Doctorate (DNP) Nursing programs at UC Irvine.
- You must request your CalFresh Verification form + class schedule from your department prior to applying.
- Students can request their CalFRESH Verification Form from the School of Nursing using this link.
- Before applying, download the Approved List of Programs here.
- Apply with our staff or watch the webinar on how to apply on your own here.
Book an appointment to apply with our staff or apply on your own with our webinar:
INCOME
STATUS
Mixed-status families can still apply for CalFresh if they have eligible members in their households! The California Department of Social Services is not allowed to share immigration information with federal agencies and the information is kept strictly confidential.
For example, undocumented parents can apply for benefits for their citizen children.
Take into consideration!
- A student who lives on campus with a meal plan must have a 100 block plan or less
- Students cannot apply for CalFresh if they have an active case in another county
- Students who have Medi-Cal in another county usually can't have Medi-Cal in one county and CalFresh in another. Students who apply to CalFresh and are approved will have their Medi-Cal automatically transferred to the county they applied for CalFresh in.
- Students can contact the county to check on the status of their CalFresh case at 1-800-281-9799