Cooking Up a Comeback: Bringing the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Program Back for Thirds
Marketing material announcing the fall 2024 return of the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Program at Arteaga’s Food Center and Santa Fe Foods.
CalFresh participants received a much-needed boost to their grocery budgets this past fall with the highly anticipated return of the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Program. For families battling food insecurity, the program was a lifeline that helped alleviate the financial strain of rising food prices. By offering a dollar-for-dollar rebate on fruit and vegetable purchases, up to $60 per month, the program helped make healthy choices more affordable and supported families in putting food on the table. On top of that, the program also provided assistance to California farmers, who supply the majority of the produce sold in grocery stores across the state.
After the program’s first cycle ended in April 2024 due to depleted funding, Assemblymember Alex Lee spearheaded the effort to secure funding for the program’s revival. Additional support from Senator Bill Dodd as co-champion, other legislators, and Governor Newsom, ultimately helped secure $10 million to start the program back up for a second time, despite the challenging budget forecast.
The $10 million infusion into the program allowed it to restart, but as anticipated, the program’s return was short-lived. While some stores began offering rebates to customers in late October, the program reached its full scale once again — with 91 grocery stores and 1 farmers’ market this second cycle — by mid November. CalFresh participants quickly resumed earning supplemental benefits at rates similar to what they were right before the program pause. Then, during the program’s final month in January, more than 67,000 households across the state earned a combined $3.3 million in fruit and vegetable benefits, surpassing the peak participation seen during the program’s first round.
When the program restarted at full scale in mid-November 2024, CalFresh participants quickly resumed earning CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental benefits at a rate similar to the end of the first cycle of the program in spring 2024. In January 2025, CalFresh participants earned a record amount of rebates through the program, indicating that the program still has the potential to provide more assistance each month to CalFresh families through the current participating locations.
While the quick exhaustion of funds reflects the program’s success, it also underscores the urgent need to secure sufficient and sustained funding to ensure its long-term viability. The program is currently on pause and its future depends on state leaders' willingness to provide additional financial support.
Assemblymember Alex Lee has remained a steadfast supporter and is once again leading the budget request to revitalize this critical program. This year, he is joined by Senator Laura Richardson and, as co-champions, they are seeking $63 million from the state budget so that the program can relaunch and operate continuously for at least 12 months. In addition, this funding would double the program’s reach — enabling it to serve twice as many households and extend to a modest number of additional retail locations across the state.
Alongside the budget request, Assembly Bill 936, also authored by Assemblymember Lee and co-sponsored by Fullwell and Nourish California, would introduce modifications to the program's framework that would position it for long-term success. Among the proposed changes, the bill establishes criteria for selecting additional retailers, should there be sufficient funding for expansion. In addition, it removes the program’s sunset date and evaluation requirements, and grants greater flexibility to the California Department of Social Services in administering the program.
Fullwell and Nourish California are continuing to work alongside our retail partners, coalition of supporting organizations, and community members to uplift the program’s impact and encourage legislators to support its ongoing funding. The legislature and governor will finalize the state budget in June, at which point it will be known whether the program has received funding to restart. As far as the policy bill, the legislature may decide to pursue incorporating the core components of AB 936 into a budget trailer bill, a bill that accompanies the state budget and provides additional details on how specific parts of the budget should be implemented. Alternatively, AB 936 may advance as a stand-alone policy bill, in which case the governor and legislature would decide its outcome by October.
With Republican-led proposals to cut billions in federal funding for CalFresh, it is more important than ever to protect food assistance programs and ensure that all individuals have access to the food they need. The CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Program has proven to be an incredibly successful program in alleviating hunger and improving health for tens of thousands of CalFresh families across the state, all while supporting California’s agricultural economy. AB 936, along with this year’s budget request, would strengthen the foundation for the program’s future growth and help it continue helping make healthy food more affordable for CalFresh families.
You can help get the program restarted by contacting your legislators and urging them to support the $63 million budget request to restart the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Program. In addition, if your organization would like to join the 78 organizations already in support, you can do so by signing onto our coalition budget letter.