Up to 47,000 Californians may lose CalFresh benefits due to new work rules

As many as 47,000 people in California could lose access to CalFresh food benefits beginning this month due to new federally imposed work requirements, the Times of San Diego reported, citing The Center Square.

These changes are part of the federal government's 2025-26 budget, passed in July 2025, which includes expanded work mandates for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. In California, SNAP is known as CalFresh.

The budget also introduces other restrictions such as limiting eligibility for some immigrants and reducing state utility subsidies, with the goal of saving taxpayers $66.2 million according to California’s 2026-27 budget.

Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Democrat from Milpitas and member of the Assembly Select Committee on CalFresh Enrollment and Nutrition, criticized the federal changes as creating "red tape traps" that cut off vital food aid for low-income people. He emphasized state efforts to counteract these federal reductions.

Community organizations in San Diego, including food banks, are already feeling the impact, with reports of nearly empty community fridges in areas like Normal Heights as more people face food insecurity due to these eligibility changes.