CalFresh fruit and vegetable pilot program to re-launch

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) - CalFresh recipients can now get $60 more a month for fruit and vegetables as part of the relaunch of a pilot program, according to Assemblyman Alex Lee’s office.

Lee, D-Milpitas, chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee and a member of the Assembly Select Committee on CalFresh Enrollment and Nutrition, secured $36 million in funding to re-start the program, according to the legislator's office. The Legislature approved the funding as part of its 2025-26 budget and as part of the state’s general fund, according to the California Department of Social Services and Lee’s office.

“The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Program is a lifeline for those living paycheck to paycheck,” Lee said in a press release issued earlier this year. EBT stands for Electronic Benefit Transfer and is used to deliver assistance.

“With the Republican-led Congress making catastrophic cuts to our social safety nets, now is the time to double down on our efforts to fight poverty and food insecurity," Lee said. "By investing in the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Program, we are taking an important step to ensuring that low-income Californians can afford fresh and healthy meals.”

The program first launched in 2023 and allowed CalFresh recipients to get $1 back on their EBT card for every $1 they spent on fresh produce at participating grocery stores.

The program was restarted amid cuts to the federally-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is known as CalFresh in California. This will result in an estimated 6 billion to 9 billion meals that will be eliminated annually as a result of these cuts, according to Feed America, a national network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs.

"The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Program relaunched just in time for the holiday season,” Lee said in an emailed statement to The Center Square. “By putting real dollars back into people’s pockets, this program will help an estimated 230,000 Californians afford fresh and nutritious meals. It is a proven and scalable solution to reducing hunger, and I’ll be working to secure additional funding so that families can continue to benefit from the program."

The re-launch of the program will make a difference for those who rely on CalFresh benefits, workers with participating grocery stores and retailers told The Center Square on Monday.

“This program really helps neighborhoods that are especially rent-burdened or have a higher cost of living,” Elise Dang, the senior operations manager for the Northeast L.A. Farmers Market, which is part of Food Access L.A., told The Center Square. “It is kind of an instant rebate that they get on their EBT card and allow them to stretch their EBT further for the month.”

Other participating grocery retailers in California, which includes Arteaga’s Food Center, Santa Fe Foods, Harvest Market and Mother’s Nutritional Center, were not able to comment before press time on Monday.

The Center Square previously reported 41.7 million people received SNAP benefits each month in 2024. Federal SNAP funding cost $99.8 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal food stamp program. SNAP recipients nationwide got an average of $187.20 a month. A report from the California Legislative Analyst's Office states that administering CalFresh cost $2.1 billion during 2020-21, which was paid for by $1 billion of federal money, $740 million from California’s state general fund and $290 million in funds paid for by counties throughout the state.