Upcoming changes to CalFresh will hit Latinos hardest

The One Big Beautiful Bill, which is now law, will bring changes to many areas of life. One of them is the federally funded food aid program SNAP (known in California as CalFresh). The new rules are slated to begin in January 2027.

No other state has more CalFresh recipients than California and the forthcoming overhaul is set to “have really important consequences for the state,” according to UCLA researcher Arturo Vargas Bustamante .

This week, he and co-authors released a study exploring who uses the program, breaking the data down into the most up to date demographic picture.

Here’s what they found

2023 CalFresh recipients: 5,508,000

Of those:

• 55% Latino (3,048,000)
• 20% White (1,086,000)
• 11% Asian, Pacific Islander (628,000)
• 9% Black (483,000) 
• 4% Multiracial (215,000)
• 0.4% Native American (23,000)

How CalFresh currently works:

• Individuals and families including U.S. citizens, legal residents, and noncitizens with certain immigration statuses may be eligible for CalFresh.
• They must meet low income thresholds set by the federal government. Examples: $2,510 gross monthly income for a household of one person, $5,200 for a household of four people.
• A specific time limit applies to Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents, which includes people between 18 and 54 years of age who can work, and have no dependent children.
• If they do not work for at least 80 hours per month, they are limited to three months of CalFresh benefits in a three year period.
• In 2023, exemptions to the ABAWD rule were given to veterans, people who are homeless, and people transitioning out of foster care and some other groups. (See above link for more exemptions.)

How CalFresh will work from January 2027:

• Expands the ABAWD definition to people 18 to 64
• Removes the ABAWD exemption from the groups below, meaning they will have to work or be limited to three months in three years
• Veterans
• People experiencing homelessness
• People transitioning out of foster care
• Parents with kids older than 14 years

In addition to the above changes, there will also be more paperwork to account for the hours worked to keep receiving CalFresh benefits.

“The intent of this bill is to make it more difficult for people to receive these benefits,” Vargas Bustamante said.

The UCLA study also found that 45% of low income adults in California face food insecurity, meaning they have a difficult time securing enough food to meet basic needs. The food insecurity rate among Latinos is 48%, 51% among Blacks, and 53% among American Indian, Alaska Natives.

Vargas Bustamante believes the law’s changes will lead to more people having difficulties finding enough food to meet basic needs.

Praise for the SNAP overhaul

SNAP is administered by the Department of Agriculture. The head of the department, Brooke L. Rollins, said the One Big Beautiful Bill’s tax cuts and other provisions would strengthen U.S. agriculture and farmers.

“While expanding programs to support the farmers who feed, fuel, and clothe America, this legislation also tackles the fraud and waste that has run rampant in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” said Rollins in a statement after Trump signed the bill into law.

She also said the bill also prevents people who are undocumented from receiving SNAP benefits.