The 2025-26 Budget
Summary. In this post, we providebackground on the state’s major food assistance programs, CalFresh andthe California Food Assistance Program (CFAP), provide updates oncaseload trends, and analyze the Governor’s proposed food assistancebudget. Under the Governor’s budget, there are no newly proposed majoraugmentations or solutions.
Background
CalFresh Provides Federally Funded Nutrition Assistanceto Low-Income Californians. CalFresh is California’sversion of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),which provides monthly food assistance to qualifying low-incomehouseholds. To be eligible, households generally must earn less than200percent of the federal poverty level. CalFresh benefits can be usedto buy most groceries and some prepared food at participating vendors,which include most grocery and convenience stores.
Monthly Benefits Vary. Monthly benefits perhousehold vary based on household size, income, and deductible livingexpenses—with larger households generally receiving more benefits thansmaller households and relatively higher-income households generallyreceiving fewer benefits than lower-income households. In 2023-24, about5.3million Californians received a total of $12billion in CalFreshbenefits, all of it federally funded, for an average monthly benefit ofabout $189 per recipient. The federal government annually adjustsCalFresh benefits in accordance with changes in the cost of food, and inaddition to this annual adjustment, made a major upward revision in 2021when it revised the contents of the “Thrifty Food Plan” (the meal planon which CalFresh benefits are based) to account for developments innutritional science.
CalFresh Administration Is Funded by the State, Counties,and Federal Government. CalFresh is overseen at the statelevel by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) andadministered locally by county human services departments. AlthoughCalFresh benefits are paid by the federal government, the costs toadminister the program are shared by state, county, and federalgovernments.
CalFresh Is Administered Through Two MainSystems. CalFresh eligibility and enrollment is tracked bya single statewide system, the California Statewide Automated WelfareSystem (CalSAWS). CalSAWS was introduced in 2019 and, as of October2023, all 58 counties use the system. The federal government helpsmanage an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system which depositsmonthly benefits for CalFresh and other human services programs ontocards to be used at grocery and convenience store checkout counters.
CFAP Provides State-Funded Food Assistance to LegalPermanent Residents Not Eligible for CalFresh. In 1996,Congress passed a welfare reform bill that, among other things,restricted federal food assistance for certain noncitizens. Mostnotably, legal permanent residents were rendered ineligible forfederally funded nutrition assistance until they had resided in thecountry for five years. The federal government gave states the option toprovide state-funded food assistance to populations affected by the 1996policy change (such as legal permanent residents who arrived less thanfive years ago). In response, California established CFAP, whichprovides benefits through the same EBT and SAWS system as CalFresh.Because CFAP operates through the EBT system, the federal government isdirectly responsible for depositing funds into the accounts ofparticipating households, and the state reimburses the federalgovernment for these costs. In addition, the federal government chargesCalifornia for all associated administrative costs. CFAP benefits, whichequal those provided by CalFresh, also vary based on household size,income, and deductible living expenses. In 2023-24, CFAP benefits were$114million General Fund ($174 average monthly benefit per person).
Recent Budget Actions Delayed Planned Expansion of FoodAssistance to Certain Additional Income-EligibleNoncitizens. Some immigrants, such as those who areundocumented, are currently ineligible for CFAP based on immigrationstatus. Recent spending plans included funding to expand CFAP to allincome-eligible noncitizens aged 55 and older, regardless of immigrationstatus. Implementation of the expansion was expected in October 2025.However, as a budget solution, the 2024-25 spending plan delayed theexpansion implementation by two years. Automation for the expansion isnow expected to begin in 2026-27, with benefit distribution to begin in 2027-28 (for newlyeligible recipients).
Other Programs and Pilots Provide Supplemental Benefitsand Emergency Food Support. The state provides additionalnutrition support for certain populations. For example, the SUN BucksProgram, which first implemented in summer 2024, provides summertimefood benefits to children in households that qualify for free orreduced-price school meals. The Emergency Food for Families and CalFoodPrograms provide food commodities and funding for food banks to supportCalifornians during emergencies. Disaster CalFresh provides short-termfood benefits and supplements to certain natural disaster victims.
Budget Overview andAssessment
Total CalFresh and CFAP Funding Increases.As shown in Figure 1, the Governor’s budget proposes $15.4billion intotal funds ($1billion General Fund) for the CalFresh and CFAP programsin 2025-26, representing net increases of $163million total funds (1percent) and about $7million General Fund (1percent) compared to therevised 2024-25 budget. This overall increase is the effect of higherunderlying costs from growing caseload and increased maximum benefitallotments (after implementation of a federal cost-of-living adjustmenton October 1, 2024).
Figure 1
CalFresh and CFAP Budget Summary
(Dollars in Millions)
2024‑25 | 2025‑26 | Change From | ||
Amount | Percent | |||
CalFresh Households | 3,194,500 | 3,228,200 | 33,700 | 1% |
CFAP Households | 28,900 | 29,800 | 900 | 3 |
Benefits | ||||
CalFresh Benefitsa | $12,602 | $12,746 | $144 | 1% |
CFAP Benefitsb | 130 | 133 | 4 | 3 |
Subtotals | ($12,732) | ($12,880) | ($148) | (1%) |
Administration | ||||
Federal Share | $1,228 | $1,238 | $10 | 1% |
State Share | 902 | 905 | 3 | — |
County Share | 348 | 350 | 3 | 1 |
Subtotals | ($2,478) | ($2,493) | ($15) | (1%) |
Totals | $15,210 | $15,373 | $163 | 1% |
aCalFresh benefits are 100 percent federally funded. The Governor’s budget estimates an average monthly benefit of $328 per household. CalFresh benefits also include replacement benefits. SUN Bucks benefits are excluded from this figure and are included in Figure 3. bCFAP benefits are 100 percent General Fund. The Governor’s Budget estimates an average monthly benefit of $372 per household. CFAP benefits also include replacement benefits. | ||||
CFAP = California Food Assistance Program. | ||||
CalFresh and CFAP Caseload Has Grown in RecentYears. Figure2 shows CalFresh/ CFAP caseload increasedover the last five years. CalFresh/CFAP caseload (as of November 2024)increased 60percent since the beginning of 2019-20, although annualrates of growth have varied from year to year. Multiple factors likelycontributed to this growth. First, starting in 2019-20, SupplementalSecurity Income/State Supplementary Payment recipients became newlyeligible to receive CalFresh benefits. Due to this policy change, and adecades-long effort to increase CalFresh enrollment, CalFresh caseloadwas at a then historic high prior to the COVID-19 public health crisis (about 2.2million households in February2020). Second, the COVID-19 public health crisis and consequent economicdownturn likely led to further caseload increases. Finally, asmentioned, maximum benefit amounts increased in the last five years.This increase in benefits also may have made the program more attractiveto recipients relative to the administrative requirements to enroll,making some recipients potentially more likely to enroll or maintainenrollment. In November 2024 (the month for which data are most recentlyavailable), CalFresh and CFAP served approximately 3.3million totalhouseholds. Caseload continues to increase in 2024-25, although initialdata suggests growth may be slowing.
Caseload Projections Appear Reasonable. Ouroffice independently forecasts CalFresh caseload. Our 2024-25 and2025-26 estimates generally align with the administration’s forecast atthis time. We will revisit this estimate in the spring when additionaldata is available.
Budget Maintains Delay in CFAP Expansion.As mentioned above, the 2024-25 spending plan delayed the CFAP expansion(to all income-eligible noncitizens aged 55 and older, regardless ofimmigration status) by two years. Under the Governor’s January 2025proposal, we understand the expansion timeline remains as determined inthe June 2024 budget package (with automation expected to begin in2026-27 and benefit distribution to begin in 2027-28 for newly eligiblerecipients). In the June 2024 budget package, General Fund savingsassociated with the delay totaled $31 million in 2024-25 and $115million in 2025-26. As of January 2025, we understand the administrationhas revised the projected savings associated with the delay to $0 in2024-25 and about $104 million General Fund in 2025-26. We are workingwith the administration to better understand these downwardrevisions.
Continues to Provide Funding for Replacement of StolenEBT Benefits. In recent years, CalFresh and other benefitsloaded onto EBT cards have been subject to increasing levels of theft(we discuss this trend further in our prior post). Whenbenefits are stolen, recipients may apply to get replacements benefits,which have been funded through a combination of state and federal fundsin recent years. The administration projects this theft will cost thestate over $121million total funds ($94million General Fund) in2024-25 and about $14 million total funds (all General Fund) in 2025-26to provide and administer reimbursements. This projected year-over-yeardecrease is largely the result of EBT security improvements, describedin more detail below. The shift from a mix of state and federal funds in2024-25 to all General Fund in 2025-26 is largely due to the end of afederal policy allowing states to temporarily replace stolen SNAPbenefits using federal funds from October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024(California has therefore returned to replacing any stolen benefits withstate funds, as was its practice before October 2022).
Anticipates Completion of EBT Security TechnologyImprovements in 2024-25. Most theft of EBT benefits isbelieved to be accomplished through creating “clones” of EBT cards. EBTcard cloning is possible, in part, because EBT cards have historicallylacked many security features common to debit and credit cards, such assecurity chips. Recent spending plans included funding (about $75million total funds over multiple years, beginning in 2023-24) toimprove EBT card technology and security through the rollout of newcards with chip and tap-to-pay technologies. The Governor’s budget shifts about $61 milliontotal funds ($19million General Fund) in previously appropriated fundsfor EBT card improvements to 2024-25 to align with remaining projectpayment milestones (it is our understanding that the projectedmulti-year cost of the EBT card improvement project remains about $75million). The administration currently anticipates the improvementeffort will be completed in 2024-25 (and therefore has not proposed anyrelated funding in 2025-26).
CDSS began the EBT card replacement process in early 2025, beginningwith a preliminary rollout to 1,000 selected cardholders in January 2025(as of February 2025, we understand from CDSS that these 1,000 cardswere successfully rolled out, with 99.9 percent of new card transactionscompleted successfully). CDSS currently anticipates it will begin masscard replacement in late February 2025 and that new cards will bedistributed via mail over a period of 12 to 16 weeks (with all new cardsdeployed by June 30, 2025).
Budget Includes $1.5Billion in Mostly Federal Fundingfor Other CDSS Food Programs. As shown in Figure 3, theGovernor’s budget proposes over $1.5billion in total funds($137million General Fund) for other CDSS-administered food assistanceprograms and pilots in 2025-26 (some federal or state food programs,like the California Department of Education’s Universal Meals Program,are administered by other departments). Year-over-year changes to someof these programs are described in further detail below.
Figure 3
2025‑26 Funding for Other CDSS‑Administered State and Federal Food Assistance Programs
(In Millions)
Program | Description | 2024‑25 | 2025‑26 | |||||
Total | Federal | State | Total | Federal | State | |||
SUN Bucksa | Provides summer food benefits to school‑aged children qualified for free or reduced‑price meals. | $1101 | $1028 | $73 | $744 | $686 | $57 | |
CACFPb | Reimburses food served at some child care centers, day care homes, and adult day care centers. | 665 | 656 | 9 | 682 | 673 | 9 | |
TEFAP and Emergency Food For Familiesc | Distributes domestically grown foods to food banks and emergency feeding organizations. Emergency Food for Families supplements existing TEFAP funds. | 21 | 20 | 1 | 23 | 23 | 1 | |
CSFP | Provides supplemental food to low‑income persons 60 years of age or older through local agencies. | 16 | 16 | — | 11 | 11 | — | |
SNB and TNB Programs | Provide supplemental or transitional benefits to households that saw a decrease in CalFresh benefits or became ineligible for CalFresh when SSI/SSP recipients became eligible for CalFresh in 2019. | 28 | — | 28 | 24 | — | 24 | |
WINS | Provides a supplemental $10 food benefit to certain CalFresh/CFAP families who are working 20 to 35 hours per week. | 19 | — | 19 | 19 | — | 19 | |
CalFresh Minimum Benefit Pilot | Will provide eligible CalFresh recipients with a minimum monthly benefit of $50 for 12 months. | 1 | — | 1 | 15 | — | 15 | |
CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Pilot | Provides a dollar‑for‑dollar match up to $60 per month when CalFresh households purchase fruits or vegetables at select farmers’ markets and grocery stores. | 11 | — | 11 | — | — | — | |
CalFresh Safe Drinking Water Pilot | Provides certain CalFresh recipients with failing water systems with an additional $50 monthly benefit. | 1 | — | 1 | 0.9 | — | 0.9 | |
Diaper Bank | Provides funding for 11 food banks to distribute diapers and wipes. | 9 | — | 9 | — | — | — | |
CalFood | Provides funding for food banks. | 8 | — | 8 | 8 | — | 8 | |
TNAP | Provides grants to eligible tribes and tribal organizations to address food insecurity. | 5 | — | 5 | 5 | — | 5 | |
Totals | $1,887 | $1,721 | $165 | $1,531 | $1,392 | $138 | ||
aSUN Bucks (formerly Summer EBT program) benefits funding is 100 percent federal. Outreach, administration, and automation funding is 50 percent federal and 50 percent General Fund. bCACFP is federally funded. The state funding is provided through Proposition 98 and non‑Proposition 98 General Fund. cTEFAP is 100 percent federally funded. Emergency Food for Families funding is 100 percent state tax revenue collections. | ||||||||
CDSS = California Department of Social Services; CACFP = Child and Adult Care Food Program; CSFP = Commodity Supplemental Food Program; EBT=Electronic Benefit Transfer; TEFAP = The Emergency Food Assistance Program; TNAP = Tribal Nutrition Assistance Program; SNB = Supplemental Nutrition Benefit Program; TNB = Transitional Nutrition Benefit Program; SSI/SSP = Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment; and WINS= Work Incentive Nutritional Supplement. | ||||||||
Year-Over-Year Change in SUN Bucks Funding Largely Due toChange in Planned Distribution Schedule. SUN Bucksbenefits were first distributed in summer 2024 (with costs allocatedacross two fiscal years, 2023-24 and 2024-25). SUN Bucks funding in2025-26 is projected to decrease by about $358million total funds($16million General Fund) relative to 2024-25. This decrease istechnical in nature and largely due to an expected change in theprogram’s implementation schedule going forward. (In the program's firstsummer, a significant portion of benefits were distributed later in theseason, resulting in many benefit costs being recorded in the 2024-25fiscal year. Moving forward, the administration plans to distributebenefits earlier in the summer, which will continue to spread costsacross two fiscal years but shift more expenditures into the prior year.As a result, program costs appear higher in 2024-25 compared to 2025-26,reflecting the timing of payments rather than a true increase in ongoingcosts.) The program’s annual estimated caseload (about 5.2 millionchildren each summer) remains unchanged year over year.
Shifts Funding for CalFresh Minimum Nutrition BenefitPilot to Budget Year. The CalFresh Minimum NutritionBenefit Pilot will ensure pilot participants receive, at minimum, $50 inmonthly CalFresh benefits (rather than the current minimum of $23).The2023-24 Budget Actauthorized the pilot and included$915,000 General Fund (one time) for automation costs. The 2024-25spending plan included $15million General Fund on a one-time basis forthe implementation of the pilot program, which was originally expectedto begin in 2024-25. Due to a delay in implementation, the Governor’sproposal shifts automation funding to 2024-25 (and increases thisfunding slightly due to updated cost estimates) and benefit funding(which remains at $15 million General Fund) to 2025-26. We understandCDSS has identified certain CalFresh households made up of solely olderor disabled adults with no earned income as the target pilot population.CDSS indicated the anticipated statewide caseload for the pilot is about36,000 households. According to CDSS, participating households willreceive supplemental monthly CalFresh benefits of about $32, onaverage.
Expiration of One-Time Funding for VariousPrograms. The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT pilot andthe Diaper Bank program both received one-time funding in the 2024-25 spending plan ($11 million General Fund and $9 million GeneralFund, respectively). Both one-time funding amounts are expected toexpire (separately, the Governor’s budget proposes a new diaper accessinitiative for all California families; please see our post on thisproposal for more details).
Issues for LegislativeConsideration
Continue Monitoring Disaster CalFresh Operations Underwayin Los Angeles Region. As mentioned in our priorpost, victims of natural disasters may be eligible for Disaster SNAP(referred to locally as Disaster CalFresh). Disaster CalFresh, which isfederally funded, provides a month of food benefits to certainincome-eligible victims of natural disasters who are not alreadyreceiving CalFresh (income requirements are generally slightly higherfor Disaster CalFresh than for standard CalFresh). Additionally, duringand following a natural disaster, certain existing CalFresh recipientsaffected by the disaster may receive short-term increases to theirbenefits (up to the maximum allotment amount) or replacement of lostbenefits. It is our understanding that Disaster CalFresh efforts arecurrently underway in response to the January 2025 wildfires in the LosAngeles region (although data on related program usage are not yetavailable). The Legislature could consider requesting regular updatesfrom the administration on the wildfire-related Disaster CalFreshefforts and program usage.
Continue Monitoring EBT Card Security Improvements andBenefit Theft Rates. As discussed above, theadministration projects significant benefit theft replacement savings in2025-26 as a result of the implementation of the new chip/tap-to-pay EBTcards. While savings associated with decreased benefit theftreplacements are certainly possible after the implementation of the newEBT cards, the administration has not provided the Legislature or ouroffice with information on how its savings estimates were reached. Werecommend the Legislature ask the administration for this information,as well as for routine updates on the rollout of the new EBT cards(including data on the number and percentage of total cards distributedand activated) and on benefit theft rates throughout and after therollout. This information would provide the Legislature greater clarityon the implications of the new EBT cards so it can have a fuller pictureof possible short- and long-term outcomes.
