CalFresh Will Restart Program Offering Cash Back on Fruits and Veggies

Lawmakers find the funding to revive a program offering $1 back for every $1 spent on healthy fare.

Fresh vegetables are displayed at a Farmer's Market in Monterey Park, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2017. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Californians receiving food assistance through the CalFresh plan will again get cash back when buying fruits and vegetables, up to $60 a month, after a pilot program was revived this week.

Assemblyman Alex Lee announced July 23 that he has secured $10 million from the 2024–25 state budget to restart the program, which had ended in April.

“The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project has reached tens of thousands of families. It is an effective solution to addressing food insecurity,” the San Jose Democrat said in a press release.

The pilot started in 2023 to reward low-income residents for eating healthy foods. Under the program, for every $1 spent on fresh fruits and vegetables at participating retailers, recipients got $1 back on their EBT cards, up to the $60 limit.

The pilot, which was launched by the California Department of Social Services, secured $10.5 million in rebates for 93,000 CalFresh recipients, with 85 grocery stores and several farmers markets across the state participating.

CalFresh provides about 5 million low-income residents with monthly benefits for food.

Mr. Lee, who is also chair of the Human Services Committee, said it’s important to continue programs for low-income families despite limited funding as California faces a budget deficit.

“Despite the deficit challenge, the state’s budget prioritizes people by protecting funding for social safety net programs like the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Pilot,” he said.

The program was established through the passage of Assembly Bill 1811 in 2018. Earlier this year, Mr. Lee introduced Assembly Bill 3229, which would make the program permanent, according to the press release.

Almost a quarter of households in the state were experiencing food insecurity in May 2024, according to the California Association of Food Banks. Data since 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic show food insecurity fell from 21 percent of households in April 2020 to 15 percent in July 2021, then began a slow climb.

Due to a loss of COVID funding in the first quarter of 2023, CalFresh recipients saw their monthly benefits drop by anywhere from $95 to $258, according to the California Budget and Policy Center.