Confusing income calculations and time-consuming application processes can make CalFresh – California’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – difficult to access, Yasmeen Washington, a law student, said.

But the Bruin Food Access Project – a partnership between UCLA law students and non-profit law firm Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles – seeks to remove those barriers by providing students with legal advice on how to access CalFresh, Washington, the program’s chair, said. She added that the program also offers guidance if students are denied benefits or do not receive an adequate amount.

“I have had law students come up to me and talk to me about, ‘I’m so grateful that I have access to these benefits because we’re in the middle of finals, and I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to pay for my next meal,’” she said.

CalFresh benefits were delayed in early November because of the federal government shutdown, which lasted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12 – the longest in U.S. history. The Trump administration, in a break from previous federal administrations, said he would not use a contingency fund to pay for SNAP benefits during the shutdown.

Congressional Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” also passed in July 2025, tightening SNAP work requirements and cutting $187 billion in funding to the program over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Washington said the pause in SNAP payments exacerbated students’ stress about accessing food.

“For many, the harm has been done because you have already had the stress, the anxiety of having to look for food or worrying, trying to plan ahead,” she said.

Zachary Genduso, a LAFLA attorney that supervises the project, said students who receive CalFresh benefits often face complications when their income changes or if the LA County Department of Public Social Services miscalculates financial aid as income.

Certain categories of students are eligible – including parents of young children or people receiving work study – he added. Forty percent of students in higher education are eligible for CalFresh benefits, according to the nonprofit GetCalFresh.org.

“The rules are always more complicated than you think,” Genduso said. “For every rule there’s an exception.”

Issues can also arise when a person’s income is not earned through employment, such as if the person receives payments from family members, said Amy Lopez, a LAFLA attorney involved with the legal clinic. She added that when applicants do not report unearned income, the county distributes more CalFresh benefits than the client is eligible for and requests the money back when they find out.

Genduso said LAFLA attorneys resolve disputes in CalFresh distribution by informally notifying DPSS liaisons or formally appealing cases, which involves representing clients in state hearings.

The project receives clients through a referral system within the UCLA CalFresh Initiative, a program under UCLA Basic Needs that helps students apply for grocery allowances as part of CalFresh, Washington said.

About 20 project volunteers then work with Genduso to interview the clients, Washington said.

Lopez added that the volunteers organize preliminary documents before clients’ meetings, which allows the attorneys to prepare before consultations and ask clarifying questions.

“Despite having to be in the library around the clock, 24/7, there were people who signed up on a Tuesday afternoon to come seek advice,” Lopez said. “This is an issue that matters and makes a difference because they’re carving out time in their calendar to talk to someone.”

Having access to food means that students have the energy to do schoolwork, extracurriculars and achieve their career goals, Washington said.

“I hear the stress in their voices when they’re talking about their food insecurity,” Washington said. “To be able to help with that makes me feel like I am so grateful to be in law school and in a position where I can help others.”