Blog

"Gilbert Ramos is the Director of the Transitional Assistance Department (TAD) of San Bernardino County. He provides direction and oversight to TAD’s workforce providing public assistance programs, including CalFresh, for residents countywide. Gilbert Ramos is being nominated for the 2022 Freshy Award for his demonstrated commitment to support and provide innovative ways to administer TAD policy initiatives, as well as advocate for and coordinate outreach efforts that have expanded CalFresh/P-EBT partnerships with schools/school districts, community organizations, and colleges. Here are just some of the innovative ventures in 2021: • Mr. Ramos arranged for staff from the Program Development Division (PDD) to present and educate on P-EBT at several County Nutrition Action Partnership (CNAP) and Food Rescue Anti-Hunger Coalition (FRAHC) virtual meetings during the pandemic, reaching over 75 organizations, including many school districts. In addition, all State hosted P-EBT Stakeholder webinars and resources were promoted and shared. This assisted SB County schools and community-based organizations to better understand the eligibility, process, and questions related to P-EBT and better equip them to answer questions and refer them to resources. As a result, several school districts placed P-EBT information on their websites. • Gilbert Ramos was part of the “Good for Students, Good for Schools: Moving Districts Forward” webinar (11/17/2021) in partnership with San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. This was a first-time partnership between CalFresh/TAD and School Districts and the webinar targeted school districts as CalFresh outreach partners. With Mr. Ramos support, the San Bernardino County TAD worked with No Kid Hungry to develop a CalFresh Outreach Toolkit targeted for San Bernardino County schools. This toolkit provided strategies to promote CalFresh, such as through the placement of a “CalFresh button” on their school websites linked to CalFresh enrollment, as well as messaging and graphics to parents via social media, robocall scripts, and emails. This webinar and introduction of the toolkit was implemented in joint collaboration with No Kid Hungry, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health/CalFresh Healthy Living, and School District Nutrition Services (Redlands and Adelanto School Districts). • Mr. Ramos approved and supported a 2-hour training with Community Based Organizations entitled “CBO’s and C4Yourself” to discuss CBO accounts, the application process, and transition from C4Yourself to BenefitsCal. (5/18/2021) • In 2021, TAD under the direction of Gilbert Ramos targeted local colleges throughout the County (Yucca Valley, Yucaipa, and San Bernardino) to bring awareness and educate students on CalFresh expanded college student eligibility through virtual and in-person events. • TAD provided outreach to veterans at Veterans Village, as well as rural and distant areas (1-2x/month), including Barstow, Hinkley, and Baker (Nevada border). • During the pandemic, in addition to appointments and assistance online and by phone, SB County TAD offices were kept open to engage and support the community as needed. Because of these all-encompassing super-heroic efforts and actions (especially in the midst of the pandemic), Gilbert Ramos is well deserving of the 2022 Freshy Award."

"Nancy Rodriguez serves as Manager II for San Mateo County and is assigned to oversee the CalFresh Program – this assignment was at her request, as she is passionate about ending hunger. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nancy worked to create innovative strategies to reach those in need. She worked with County Emergency Response to create and implement a rapid (same or next day) EBT card delivery service for individuals who could not travel due to COVID-19 risks or restrictions. This program provided needy individuals and families an ability to access benefits quickly, including online ordering services and food delivery. Nancy also expanded the way San Mateo County conducted CalFresh Outreach. She swiftly identified the need to change communication strategies and expanded campaigns to include virtual presentations, including video food demonstrations. She worked with Santa Clara County and Second Harvest food bank on a cross-county venture to reach individuals who were demonstrating an immediate need by utilizing food banks. Participants who affirmed their need were called within 24 hours and assisted in applying for CalFresh.Additionally, Nancy collaborated with San Mateo Legal Aid Society and Public Health on a Public Charge campaign. This effort included commissioning professional posters, (samples available upon request), Public Service announcements (including online information and a radio ad), a dedicated County phone number for Public Charge questions and information, and providing training, literature, and materials to County staff as well as local partner agencies. Nancy has worked hard to provide advocacy within our community and implemented processes that worked to assist clients in receiving benefits faster and easier. Her approach has been successful; as result, amongst California counties, San Mateo achieved one of the highest pandemic-period, statewide program percentage increases. For these reasons, Nancy Rodriguez is an excellent candidate for a Freshy Award!"

"Casandra Wagner and her team members are with the CalFresh Policy Bureau at the California Department of Social Services. Cassie and her team have been charging forward on all things related to expanding CalFresh benefits for college students. Cassie and her team have worked diligently with our intersegmental working group, the California Higher Education Basic Needs Alliance on implementation of many recently passed CalFresh for college student related bills. They are very proactive and are seeking creative means to expand CalFresh for College students. As a person who has been in the higher education space for almost 20 years, and as a person who has worked in the area of expanding public benefit access for college students, I can say unequivocally that Cassie and her team are exceptional advocates for our students. The energy and innovation that Cassie brings to these efforts is very much above and beyond. Implementation of these bills combined with Cassie’s energy to ensure smooth implementation will have an impact on millions of students in California’s higher education systems now and for years to come. "

"Daniel Wheeler is a member of the marketing communications team at the Department of Public Social Services of Los Angeles County. He has played an important role to increase public awareness through innovative strategies to connect with local and hyperlocal communities seeking food benefits. Some of his accomplishments are below: Conducted research and field studies to improve the Department’s marketing communications through a heavy focus on community outreach and public relations to produce stellar content for deeply targeted audiences thereby growing, feeding, and engaging local communities. Successfully negotiated and captured earned media on behalf of the Department, a Public Service Announcement valued more than $30,000 dollars to promote and expand the Department’s benefit programs to niche audiences on Power 106, 93.5 KDAY, and 93.9 KLLI. Produced best-in-class marketing strategies to promote Department initiatives to ensure performance - operating on trust and cooperation by setting clearly defined end goals to ensure project success."