St. Mary’s Community Services in Stockton partners with CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE and EFNEP on classes for families
As the mother of a newborn and a one-year-old, Ashli Grady said she’s feeling the effects of that cognitive phenomenon commonly known as “mom brain.” “I forget things so easily,” she said.
“I’m a new mom, so I have to plan not just for myself, but for everybody,” Grady added. “I have to take what I have for myself, and for them, and budget all of it accordingly so that everybody is getting the right nutrition and the things they need, throughout the whole month.”
With postpartum brain fog adding to the challenge of tracking expenses, Grady said she has appreciated the budgeting class offered to family lodge guests at St. Mary’s Community Services in Stockton, where she is staying while looking for permanent housing.
“Housing is the goal, but the reality is that many of our guests aren’t ready for housing when they get here – they don’t know how to save; they don’t know how to do a lot of financial things,” said Jessica McKercher, a case manager at St. Mary’s. “That’s why these classes are so important; they may not teach them everything, but they at least give them a little head start on how to manage bills or manage groceries.”
St. Mary’s – a long-standing community-based organization that provides essential services, social services, health services, and emergency shelter and housing services – started offering the basic money-management class in January 2024. It was the result of a new partnership formed by Mercedes Moreno, program manager at St. Mary’s, with University of California Cooperative Extension in San Joaquin County.
In response to the needs of their clientele, Moreno had contacted Lorena Hoyos at the local UCCE office about incorporating the “Making Every Dollar Count” course offered by CalFresh Healthy Living, UC – one of the entities in California that teaches healthy eating, active living and how to stretch food dollars to people eligible for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
“It was amazing because everything we were looking for, this curriculum had,” Moreno said. “Our biggest concern was that, because our families are low-income, many of them haven’t had budget classes before – so we wanted a curriculum that was simple and usable.”
With 112 participants attending at least one session (and 56 completing the course to earn their certificates) in just the first year, Hoyos noted that the partnership already has been a tremendous success.
“It’s very beneficial for the participants at St. Mary’s; they are taking these lessons and putting them into practice,” said Hoyos, community nutrition supervisor for CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE in San Joaquin County. “When we get that feedback that we’ve helped someone, it makes it worth it.”
Family saves $140 a month thanks to budgeting tips, tools
Grady said the course – which comprises eight sessions – has been a great help to her, especially in introducing budgeting tools such as a calendar that graphically charts her spending on food, bills and other expenses.
“I know I’m spending money on those things, but I didn’t know how much, or how frequently,” Grady explained. “It helped me break it down and get a visual, like, ‘Dang, do I really spend that much on transportation?’ So that’s made me plan out my days better.”
As a result of the class, Grady added that she is trying to be more diligent about making grocery lists to reduce the number of unnecessary trips.
Like many of the participants, Grady also said she enjoyed the engaging teaching style of the instructor, Maricarmen Anaya, who has been a CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE nutrition educator for 12 years.
“A big part of why this class has been successful is the facilitator,” Moreno said. “The participants talk a lot about the class, but they always mention Maricarmen – they love her. She explains things simply, very directly, and you can tell she cares. And for most of our families, that’s what they need.”
During a recent class covering “Saving Money on Food,” some of the 18 adults gathered in a common room of the St. Mary’s family lodge expressed skepticism about the subject; one man said resorting to a “ramen diet” was the only way. “Healthy food is so expensive,” the participant said. “They make junk food so much more affordable.”
“We’re eating not just to fill our stomachs; we’re eating to get nutrients,” Anaya reminded the group, before explaining – in English and Spanish – a variety of grocery cost-saving tips, from using unit pricing at the store to downloading retailer apps for discounts to taking advantage of farmers market incentives.
By the end of the 45-minute class, many of the participants were buzzing about the possibilities of saving money. A few of them were excited about a “calculator” tool that shows the cost per day of different expenses (such as café-bought coffee or fast-food meals), and how reducing spending by various amounts per day can add up over a week, a month, a year and beyond.
One participant said she would put that calculator handout in her car, and another said he would place it by the door – as a reminder to cut down on their daily expenses.
Anaya said she’s always happy to see St. Mary’s clients gain a sense of accomplishment and control, given the circumstances in their lives. Inspired by the class, one participant told Anaya that she and her partner developed their own spreadsheet to track their expenses and saved about $140 in a month.
“I want to give them the feeling that, ‘I am able to do it, I am able to save – and I thought I could never do it,’” Anaya said.
Budgeting, nutrition classes a small but important step to a better future
St. Mary’s makes “Making Every Dollar Count” mandatory while their clients are staying at the family lodge. To successfully move to permanent housing and handle added financial responsibilities, many clients need to learn the basic budgeting skills that are often totally new to them, according to St. Mary’s case managers.
They said some of their clients came from domestic violence situations where they were not allowed to manage their own money. Some had only lived in motels. Others were accustomed to receiving cash aid. And one woman had been at the St. Mary’s shelter as a child – and was now back at the lodge with her own children.
“We’re trying to break that cycle and really prepare them for the real world,” said Renee Bell, a St. Mary’s case manager. “A lot of times, budget issues are what got them here – not knowing how to budget, not knowing how to spend their money.”
That’s especially important, Bell noted, because some of the clients are seeing their available cash increase significantly as they go from a welfare check to a twice-monthly paycheck from their new jobs. The budgeting class – and the subsequent, research-based course from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) – help them make good choices with their income.
After the “Making Every Dollar Count” series of classes, EFNEP educators Susana Gonzalez and Danny Vang take the baton and facilitate nutrition and physical activity education classes for St. Mary’s clients. The educators – who are also part of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources team, alongside their CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE colleagues – focus on improving diet quality, increasing physical activity, and sharing safe food-handling practices and food-resource management skills.
“This partnership has been incredible; the three pillar programs – St. Mary’s, EFNEP and CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE – collectively work together to bring about nutrition education and health resources to family lodge clients during their time there,” said Deanna Cruz-Ortiz, EFNEP supervisor in San Joaquin County. “In addition to the interactive activities and lessons, EFNEP provides healthy recipe demonstrations and food tastings to families, adding more nutritious foods during their day.”
Vang said their program enables participants to gain confidence in the kitchen, try new ingredients and explore unfamiliar foods that often become new favorites. “We strive to create a supportive environment where individuals can share knowledge and experiences,” he said. “Additionally, we offer practical tips for parents and caregivers to involve their children in healthy eating habits and simple meal preparation.”
The partnering organizations hope to expand their classes to clients in the men’s and women’s shelters at St. Mary’s Community Services. But, for now, offering the CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE and EFNEP courses at the family lodge has an important added benefit – the next generation gets a taste of the essential knowledge that will help them far into the future.
“The great thing is the participants are going to teach their children these skills,” Moreno said. “They’re learning, they’re excited and they’re going to be teaching them all of that.”