These Californians could lose CalFresh food assistance soon. Why?
These Californians could lose CalFresh food assistance soon. Why?
Paris Barraza, USA TODAYWed, April 1, 2026 at 9:42 PM UTC
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Some Californians may lose CalFresh food assistance due to multiple changes affecting eligibility for the program — one of which could impact hundreds of thousands in the state.
Asylees, refugees and people with deportation or removals withheld are among the groups of noncitizens who will no longer be eligible for CalFresh under a change on April 1 — although when that goes into effect will be determined by whether you’re a new applicant or not.
This change, along with changes to work requirements coming later this year, has been in the pipeline since President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” tax and spending bill into law last July. The changes impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or CalFresh in California.
SNAP made national headlines in fall 2025 when funding lapsed for the program amid a record-long government shutdown, threatening the food benefits for Californians and Americans nationwide.
Now, several food banks serving Southern California say they anticipate more people turning to them as these changes go into effect — and potentially cause people to lose their benefits.
“Any changes to CalFresh are going to impact food banks, food pantries in the entire charitable food network,” said Claudia Bonilla Keller, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. “We saw that during the effects on SNAP and CalFresh during the government shutdown in October.”
Here’s what to know.
What is changing on April 1?
Certain groups of people referred to as “noncitizens” or “lawfully present immigrants” will no longer be eligible for CalFresh. According to the California Department of Social Services, that applies to:
Asylees
Refugees
Parolees (unless they are Cuban and Haitian entrants)
Individuals with deportation or removal withheld
Conditional entrants
Victims of trafficking
Battered noncitizens
Iraqi or Afghan with special immigrant visas who are not lawful permanent residents
Certain Afghan nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023
Certain Ukrainian nationals granted parole between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024
The April 1 change impacts new applicants to CalFresh, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.
Otherwise, current CalFresh recipients will see their eligibility reevaluated when they renew their benefits, according to the L.A. County department and nonprofit organization Feeding San Diego.
The California Department of Social Services did not respond in time for publication to a question about how many people are expected to be impacted by this eligibility change in the state.
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Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown.
Changes to CalFresh aren’t over yet
Another change comes to CalFresh recipients starting June 1. It's a work requirement that's not new but impacts more people.
Essentially, CalFresh recipients who are 18 to 64 years old, don’t have a dependent child under 14 years old, and are able to work face a work requirement known as Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents, according to the California Department of Social Services and the L.A. County department.
Some changes expand the pool of people the ABAWD work requirement applies to. For example, the ABAWD requirement previously applied to people who are 18 to 54 years old.
People who face this requirement will have to work, volunteer, pursue job training or be involved in other qualifying activities for a designated period of time to keep their CalFresh benefits for more than three months in a 36-month period, according to the California Department of Social Services and the L.A. County department.
The alternative: Lose out on your benefits, unless you’re able to get an exemption from this requirement.
However, changes are also coming to who is exempt. For example, people with a child under 18 previously could qualify for an exemption, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now, your child would have to be under 14.
Of the 954,800 people estimated to fall under the expanded work requirement, a majority are not expected to qualify for an exemption, according to the California Legislative Analyst's Office, citing California Department of Social Services figures.
“Of these, about 665,500 are estimated to not meet the requirement, becoming at risk of losing food assistance,” said the LAO.
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States could ask to have the "ABAWD time limit" waived, referring to how people have to meet certain work requirements in order to get their food benefits for more than three months in a three-year period, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to the California LAO, the president's tax and spending legislation tightened "rules for waivers based on economic conditions."
“Until recently, California had a statewide waiver exempting all CalFresh recipients from the requirement based on economic conditions in the state,” according to the LAO. “This effectively means that there were no work restrictions or time limits for the ABAWD population in California.”
However, the LAO said that "the state is seeking waivers under the tighter rules on a county-by-county basis and has obtained waivers for several counties" in a February report.
Food banks weren’t intended to ‘cover the need’
A recipient carries away food boxes at a large-scale food distribution in Exposition Park, in response to the federal government shutdown and SNAP/CalFresh food benefits delays, on November 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The event was hosted by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and the office of L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
As Second Harvest Food Bank Orange County faces an anticipated increase in need in the coming months due to the changes impacting CalFresh, Bonilla Keller said their priority is “getting as much good food into our distribution center and out the doors.”
“We focus on nutritious food, so, proteins, milk, eggs, produce — some of the most expensive food if you think about it — is what we focus on sourcing either buying, growing or getting donated and getting as much of that in and getting those commitments ahead of time so we are ready for what we believe will be an increased need,” Bonilla Keller said.
The Orange County food bank prepares for increased need all the time, according to Bonilla Keller, whether it’s due to inflationary pressures or a government shutdown. That means they’re constantly evaluating what the need will be in the months to come, including with the CalFresh changes.
“The hard reality is that food banks were never intended to ‘cover the need,’” Bonilla Keller said. “We were an emergency system that was set up some 50 years ago to really be a supplemental program to folks that needed help at the end of the month, if they lost their job, if they have their hours reduced, what have you.”
Feeding America Riverside San Bernardino is “preparing to see a rise in need" in "many of our households in Riverside and San Bernardino counties as each of these rules is implemented,” Rachel Bonilla, marketing and engagement manager at FARSB, said in an email.
The rise in need comes as households struggle to keep up with rising costs of living, and as families are already coming to food banks at a higher rate, she said. Changes to CalFresh will “exacerbate the issue,” according to Bonilla.
Reports from the Brookings Institution and the Center for Economic and Policy Research have pointed out issues with work requirements; Brookings concluded last year that work requirements don’t increase employment. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services said it may ask people for information or documents to confirm their exemption if the ABAWD requirement doesn’t apply to them.
“Harmful restrictions like these are proven not to work, and in fact punish those who are unable to find work,” Bonilla said. “It acts as an administrative burden and results in eligible people losing benefits due to paperwork errors, lack of childcare, and limited access to qualifying work or training.”
Further north, Kelly Lowery, executive director at the Community Action Partnership of Kern Food Bank, said they serve the immigrant population “highly already,” so the impact they’re anticipating more is because of the work requirement.
Lowery said that it’s not as if everyone these changes impact will get disenrolled all at once. It’ll occur as they get recertified for CalFresh, and that poses a problem if most people learn they are no longer eligible for benefits upon that renewal.
“They're going to be put into a place of acute need right away,” Lowery said. “And that's the reason why it'll make downward pressure on the food bank system.”
People who once had benefits that helped them access food will no longer have it, and they’ll have “nowhere to go,” according to Lowery. So, they’ll go to the food bank.
“We didn't get any extra provisions to make up the difference here, so we have to be creative about how we're trying to make more with the same amount,” he said.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Changes to CalFresh eligibility begin April. Are you impacted?
Source: “AOL Breaking”
