SACRAMENTO – Following new federal rules that limit who is eligible for food benefits and impose expanded work requirements, the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS), Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), and California Department of Social Services (CDSS) are taking action to help more eligible Californians keep their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known as CalFresh in California, by recognizing existing workforce programs as acceptable ways to meet the new federal rules and expanding the number of programs Californians can participate in to keep their CalFresh benefits.

“When people are worried about having enough food to eat, it becomes much harder to gain the skills and experience needed to obtain and maintain stable employment,” CalHHS Secretary Kim Johnson said. “I want to thank the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the California Department of Social Services for their partnership on this effort, which will provide food security for eligible individuals.”

“Reducing barriers between people and the support they need to care for themselves and their families is a core part of our mission,” LWDA Secretary Stewart Knox said. “Together with California Health and Human Services and the California Department of Social Services, we’re aligning a wider range of education and training programs with new federal requirements to give more Californians practical ways to stay connected to food assistance while they prepare for long‑term employment.”

Last year, the Republican majority in Congress and President Trump enacted H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or OBBBA). As a result of H.R. 1, on June 1, 2026, federal eligibility rules for SNAP changed. Now, more people must verify that they meet expanded work and community engagement requirements to get or keep their CalFresh benefits. People who engage in qualifying programs can count their participation hours towards these requirements, while also gaining education and career training that will support their readiness for work. California is actively working to expand access to programs that help people meet these new rules.

Many workforce programs currently offered in California that promote work readiness and economic mobility did not previously count towards work and community engagement requirements. However, federal rules allow states to set standards and recognize a broader range of programs for assessing SNAP eligibility. California moved quickly to establish new statewide standards that will recognize existing workforce programs as acceptable ways to meet the CalFresh work and community engagement requirements. Programs that will be recognized as meeting the requirements include, but are not limited to, adult education, apprenticeships, and Career Technical Education.

“By expanding the number of programs that meet these new federal requirements, California is not only helping people retain critical food benefits – we are also helping people build skills, secure employment, and ultimately achieve economic stability and mobility,” CDSS Director Jennifer Troia said.

Helping Families Afford Healthy Food

Previous versions of the pilot served more than 155,600 CalFresh households and provided more than $17.9 million in additional food benefits. An evaluation of the earlier pilots found positive outcomes for participating families and identified opportunities to make the program easier to use. Those lessons helped shape the current pilot, including technological improvements to the experience for EBT cardholders and participating retailers.

The pilot program was originally created through Assembly Bill 1811 (2018) and this iteration of the program is supported by $20 million from the recently enacted state budget. The pilot will remain in effect until funding is exhausted.

More About CalFresh

The CalFresh program provides financial assistance for purchasing food to low-income California residents. Benefits are federally funded, and the program is administered by California counties.

For information on how to apply, visit GetCalFresh.org or BenefitsCal.com. For data on CalFresh enrollment, access the Department’s CalFresh data dashboard.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cardholders can download the free mobile application ebtEDGE to manage and protect their benefits. For more information on ebtEDGE, visit the Department’s ebtEDGE webpage.

Fighting Food Insecurity

CalFresh is just one of the many programs in California that are in place to fight hunger. Other programs and recent changes to CalFresh include:

  • California has streamlined CalFresh enrollment for college students. Every undergraduate college student enrolled in a degree program at a California Community College, California State University, or the University of California meets the initial application requirements for CalFresh, removing barriers that kept financially eligible students from applying.
  • The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program provides people receiving CalFresh the opportunity to earn a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $60 per month, when purchasing fruits and vegetables with their CalFresh benefits at participating grocery stores and farmers markets.
  • The California Food Assistance Program provides food benefits to qualified non-citizens who do not qualify for federal benefits. The CFAP currently serves approximately 45,000 noncitizens statewide.
  • In times of emergency, Disaster CalFresh provides increased benefits to people impacted by disasters.
  • The SUN Bucks program provides families $40 per month for food in June, July, and August ($120 total) when children do not have access to school meals.  
  • The Emergency Food Assistance Program helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost.
  • The Tribal Nutrition Assistance Program collaborates with Tribes in California, working in government-to-government consultation, to address food insecurity and inequities prevalent within indigenous communities.  
  • CalFood provides essential funding that enables food banks to purchase California grown foods to distribute to people experiencing hunger.
  • School Meals for All bridges a critical hunger gap for families in California, ensuring all children get access to two nutritious meals every day at school regardless of family income.
  • The California ’s Universal Meals Program is a statewide universal meals program for school children, which builds on the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
  • The Women, Infants and Children program, administered by the California Department of Public Health, helps families across the state by providing nutrition education, breastfeeding support, healthy foods, and referrals to health care and other community services.