By admin 
Hundreds of thousands of low-income Californians who receive food aid through the CalFresh program are now subject to new work requirements as of June 1.
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The work requirements for the program — known federally as SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — follow new rules signed into law about a year ago through President Donald Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
The bill limits recipient eligibility, reduces benefits and services and shifts costs from the federal government onto states and local municipalities.
CalFresh offers low-income state residents aid through monthly allocations of food stamps to purchase food at grocery stores and markets.
In the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year, CalFresh provided over $12.5 billion in food aid to an average of 5.5 million people in 3.3 million households a month, according to a November 2025 report from California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The California Department of Social Services, the agency that administers the food assistance dollars, said in the November report that there are about 495,000 state residents in jeopardy of losing their benefits due to the work requirements. As of Wednesday morning, the state gave an updated number of about 665,000 residents. SNAP is the nation’s biggest food aid program.
Here’s what to know about the new work requirements:
There are new rules from California and the federal government
The CalFresh requirement is known as “work registration” in California. If subject to these rules, a resident must take a job if offered one and not voluntarily quit a job or reduce work hours below 30 hours per week “without good reason.”
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Californians can be excused from the state requirements for the following reasons:
- They are younger than 16 or are 60 or older
- They are caring for a dependent child under age 6 or a person with a disability
- They are earning at least $217.50 per week pre-tax or are working at least 30 hours per week
- They are receiving or applying for unemployment benefits and/or disability benefits from any source
- They are disabled
- They are meeting work rules for another program such as CalWORKs
- They are in an alcohol or drug abuse treatment program
- They are a student (which may come with additional eligibility rules)
The federal rules apply to residents between the ages of 18 and 64 who are considered physically and mentally able to work at least 20 hours per week and who do not have a dependent child under age 14.
Previously, the age limit topped out at 54 and applied to dependent children as old as 18. People experiencing homelessness, veterans and individuals who were in foster care on their 18th birthday were excused from the work requirements but now are subject to the federal policies.
To receive the food aid, the federal government requires Californians to volunteer, have a job or be enrolled in school or a job training program for an average of 20 hours per week or earn $217.50, pre-tax, per week.
For residents who don’t meet this requirement, the federal rule limits CalFresh benefits to three months every three years. These benefits can be extended if residents are working, excused from the work requirement or are living in a county that waives the work requirement.
Californians can be excused from the federal requirements for the following reasons:
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- They are a parent or responsible for a dependent child under the age of 14
- They are excused from the general CalFresh work requirements
- They are unable to work due to a disability and/or because they are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, are a victim of domestic violence or are experiencing chronic homelessness
- They are pregnant
- They identify as Indian, Urban Indian or California Indian under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act
- They are participating in an Office of Refugee Resettlement training program at least half-time
- They are living in an area where the work requirement is waived. These waivers are in place through Oct. 31, 2026, for Alpine, Colusa, Imperial, Merced, Monterey, Plumas and Tulare counties
For more information: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/calfresh/abawd
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 11:23 AM.