New CalFresh work rules took effect on Monday, requiring many adults who seek food assistance to be working, volunteering or in training for at least 20 hours a week. The change, carried in President Trump's HR-1 budget bill, marks the start of a shift that food banks say could reshape demand across California.
That is why the change is getting attention now. CalFresh, California's version of SNAP, loads benefits onto an EBT debit card that can be used at grocery stores, and the new rules apply to people ages 18 to 64 without dependent children under 14 unless they qualify for an exemption. Students, pregnant women and people with physical or mental disabilities are exempt, but many others are not.
Michael Altfest of the Alameda County Food Bank said the organization expects somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people to have their benefits eliminated or affected over the coming year. He said the food bank is preparing for more strain even though the full effect of the rule change will not be clear for 12 to 15 months, a delay that comes from the way CalFresh clients reapply every year and from the grace period built into the program.
Under the new system, non-working applicants can receive three months of benefits before cutoff, then have 90 days after their reapplication date to find work. That means some people will not feel the impact right away, while others may lose benefits later depending on when their renewal comes due and whether they can meet the new requirement.
Supporters of the work rules argue the policy could connect people to jobs and training, but even defenders acknowledge the real test is whether enough work is available. Former state labor official Michael Bernick said it is a difficult job market and that work mandates can only succeed if they come with support; he also pointed to the larger unanswered question: where those jobs will come from.
For Altfest and other food bank leaders, that is the problem they have to plan for now. The rule is in force, the clock has started for non-working applicants, and California's food safety net may not know for more than a year how many people will fall out of CalFresh and into the line at the pantry.
