Information provided by The Community Foundation for San Benito County. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
The Health Trust is investing $200,000 to support a coordinated community effort to help San Benito County residents maintain access to health coverage and food assistance programs. The investment includes direct stipends for participating nonprofit partners, facilitated convenings, shared data tools, and the development of a coordinated local action plan. This transformative investment strengthens the community infrastructure needed for nonprofits, health providers, public agencies, and local leaders to foster lasting collaboration and a thriving San Benito County.
“Proposed cuts and new administrative barriers to critical health and social services threaten to put essential supports out of reach for many who qualify, creating serious health consequences for individuals and families across San Benito County,” said Dr. Tony Iton, President and CEO, The Health Trust. “We know no single organization can meet this challenge alone. It will take a coordinated effort across sectors to ensure the systems families and individuals depend on remain strong. This partnership reflects our deep commitment to working together to protect access to care, strengthen community resilience and help every resident thrive.”
The Community Foundation for San Benito County (CFFSBC) will serve as the lead convener for the initiative, Protecting Coverage in San Benito County: A Cross-Sector Response, bringing together a working group of at least six partner organizations to align around shared data, defined roles, and a unified strategy over a one-year grant period.
The initiative comes at a meaningful time for San Benito County. Approximately 22,000 county residents are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal, representing nearly one in four residents.
Upcoming changes to Medi-Cal and Cal-Fresh eligibility and enrollment processes are expected to introduce new administrative steps for residents and enrollment workers. Without coordinated local support, some eligible individuals may experience gaps in coverage during transitions, particularly Latino families, older adults, and working families navigating these processes for the first time.
For local community members, gaps in coverage can mean delays in medical care, disruptions in medications, and reduced access to food assistance. For the county, increased demand for services and rising uncompensated care can place additional pressure on Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, the only inpatient facility serving San Benito County. Ensuring continuity of coverage and access is a shared community responsibility.
Building Infrastructure, Not Just Programs
A key opportunity for San Benito County lies in better coordination among the organizations already serving residents most affected by these changes. Many of these organizations have been working independently, without a shared strategy or consistent communication across sectors. This initiative creates the structure for that coordination to happen.
As a trusted community convener, CFFSBC is well positioned to bring together partner organizations including the Community FoodBank of San Benito County, Central Coast Alliance for Health (the county’s Medi-Cal managed care plan), San Benito Health Foundation, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Foundation, and San Benito County Public Health around shared data, aligned priorities, and a coordinated action plan.
“San Benito County has always been a community that takes care of its own. What this partnership makes possible is something our community has needed for a long time: a space where the organizations doing this work every day can come together, share what they are seeing, and build a common plan. We are grateful to The Health Trust for recognizing the value of that kind of infrastructure and for investing in San Benito County’s capacity to respond together.” — Cassandra Kartashov, CEO, Community Foundation for San Benito County Over the course of the grant year, CFFSBC will host a minimum of three facilitated convenings focused on enrollment trends and service demand data, facilitate six working group meetings to develop shared priorities and define partner roles, and co-create a shared dashboard to track enrollment, referrals, and collective impact over time.
The Community Already Coming Together
The grant announcement follows CFFSBC’s inaugural Community Chats with Cassandra, held June 24, 2026 in Hollister, an educational forum that brought together leaders from the Community FoodBank of San Benito County, Central Coast Alliance for Health, San Benito County Public Health Services, San Benito County Behavioral Health, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, and San Benito Health Foundation to explore how evolving federal health and human services policy is shaping the local landscape. The conversation reinforced the value of cross-sector dialogue and the relationships that make coordinated action possible.