County of Ventura Human Services Agency Partners with SEEAG To Increase CalFresh Student Enrollment

VENTURA, Calif. - June 7, 2021 - PRLog -- The County of Ventura Human Services Agency is partnering with Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) to increase CalFresh enrollment and food access among students and families served by SEEAG's Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative (VCCWI). CalFresh provides monthly food benefits to individuals and families with low-incomes.

SEEAG staff members travel in an agricultural and nutritional-themed Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom van to Ventura County elementary schools to educate, inspire and empower children and their families to increase their consumption of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.

Over the summer, SEEAG will work with the Human Services Agency's CalFresh program to develop a curriculum designed to encourage families to enroll in CalFresh.

Bilingual representatives from the county's CalFresh outreach team will be at SEEAG's VCCWI school presentations as well as at Food and Health Resource market pop-ups and on virtual webinars.

"With in-school teaching scheduled to resume, we'll be able to provide in-person lessons and activities that teach students about the journey of our food—from seed, to harvest, to table," says Mary Maranville, SEEAG's founder and CEO. "Students are introduced to the 'food rainbow' and learn how each color of fruits and vegetables benefits specific parts of their bodies. They will also learn about the importance of exercise and staying active. We've found that when kids learn how healthy eating makes them stronger and improves their mental health and well-being, they immediately want to eat better."

Aurora Ortiz, CalFresh program expert, says, "While CalFresh serves more than 64,000 people in Ventura County including 28,000 children and youth, there are more who are eligible but not yet enrolled."  Ortiz continues, "We'd like to help every eligible household apply for assistance with purchasing groceries so more of that hard-earned paycheck can be spent elsewhere, with less worry over putting food on the table."

Major VCCWI health-related partners include Dignity Health St. John's Regional Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Clinicas del Camino Real, Gold Coast Health Plan and Adventist Health Simi Valley.

Financial partners include Wells Fargo, Farm Credit West, Montecito Bank and Trust and Ventura County Credit Union. Agriculture partners are AGQ Labs, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Crimson Midstream, Gill's Onions, Pyramid Flowers, YCE, Inc., Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, Reiter Affiliated Companies plus over a dozen other Ventura County growers that will donate produce to distribute during VCCWI school presentations.

For more about SEEAG and the Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative, go to www.seeag.org. To reserve a program time and date, click on www.seeag.org/programscheduler.