California Restarts $60-a-Month CalFresh Produce Benefit With $20 Million in State Budget Funding
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project resumed on October 1, giving participating households a dollar-for-dollar match on qualifying fresh fruit and vegetable purchases — up to $60 per household each month. Benefits are earned automatically when an eligible CalFresh customer buys qualifying produce at a participating grocery store or farmers market with an EBT card, can be spent on eligible groceries at any CalFresh retailer, do not reduce the household's regular allotment, and require no separate application.
The pilot had paused at the end of June as funding ran out. California's 2026-27 budget provided another $20 million in one-time funding, allowing the restart. Program figures reported earlier this year showed the pilot served 95,520 households in May alone and distributed more than $5 million in benefits that month. CDSS says the program will operate for as long as funding remains available and has not announced a specific end date.
CalFresh is California's name for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, administered by counties to help low-income residents buy food; the produce pilot is designed to stretch recipients' purchasing power for fresh fruits and vegetables beyond the basic benefit.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0（农贸市场果蔬摊）／ Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
