For women ex-prisoners, food insecurity can trigger catastrophe. Activists want more aid

LOS ANGELES -- When Deanna Mirabal was released from prison seven months ago, after 38 years of being locked up, anxiety overtook her instead of happiness.

The world that she left behind at 19 was nonexistent. It had been replaced by a shocking new world in which people searched for information on something called the Internet and communicated through handheld devices that were hard to obtain behind cell bars.

But Mirabal's biggest concern was how to apply for government food stamps while she searched for employment and a stable place to live after her release from the Central California Women's Facility, northwest of Fresno, about 250 miles from Los Angeles.

"Leaving the prison system was like entering another world that wasn't real, but the basic needs like food were real," said Mirabal, a San José native who was sentenced for taking part in a robbery that resulted in a murder she said she did not commit. "We would like people to be able to put themselves in our shoes. Without such necessary help as food, it is difficult for a woman like me to successfully reenter society."

Mirabal is one of thousands of women who face food insecurity each year upon their release from