(The Center Square) – Food banks across California are marshaling their forces as residents face losing their federal aid under new rules.
The federal government’s 2025-26 budget bill, H.R. 1 or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, cut an estimated $211 billion of federal taxpayer money from the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in California. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office, which estimated the amount of federal funding reductions to food benefits programs by shifting more cost-sharing responsibilities onto states and reducing funding for child nutrition programs.
The new rules, which take effect June 1, would institute work, school or community engagement requirements on CalFresh recipients between 18 and 65 who don’t have children at home. Those who keep their CalFresh benefits would have to work, be in school or do community service for at least 20 hours a week or 80 hours averaged out over a month.
However, there are exceptions. Children and those over 65 years old, a parent or guardian of a child under 14, those who are disabled, caretakers of a disabled person, veterans, pregnant women and those in a drug or alcohol treatment program are excused from those rules.
During a virtual press conference on Wednesday morning, Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, told journalists that the new rules imposed by the federal government budget bill will strip food benefits from many Californians who need it the most.
“The federal budget, H.R. 1, is decimating the safety net, making the largest cuts to the program in its history,” Lee said. “Starting on June 1, H.R. 1 will impose cruel and punitive work requirements, forcing the poorest Californians into even deeper poverty. Expanding work requirements are red-tape traps to cut off vital food aid to low-income people.”
An estimated 665,000 people in California are expected to lose their CalFresh benefits as a result of the new work requirements, Lee added.
“Moving ahead, H.R. 1 will compel the state and counties to shoulder the additional costs of CalFresh,” Lee said. “California taxpayers have contributed tens of billions of dollars more than we’ve received from Washington, yet we’re left holding the bill and bearing the harm.”
Leaders at food banks in the San Francisco Bay Area said during the press conference that they believe imposing work requirements to get food benefits is more hurtful than helpful.
“There is no research that actually shows a link between these types of work requirements, time limits and improved employment outcomes,” Jared Call, director of public policy and advocacy for the California Association of Food Banks, said. “They only serve to cut people off vital food assistance.”
The Congressional Budget Office determined in August 2025 that the new federal provisions restricting access to SNAP will reduce the national number of taxpayer-funded food benefit recipients by 2.4 million people over an average month between 2025 and 2034, according to information released by that office last year.
California’s Democratic lawmakers expressed concern in recent months that the new work requirements would negatively impact the state’s foster youth, who are able to stay in foster care between 18 and 21 under a 2010 law, The Center Square previously reported. Those foster youth were previously excluded from federal work requirements to get food benefits.
However, not every legislator in the state thinks it is a bad idea to institute work requirements, particularly for young people who are able to work.
“I think we need to do a lot to make sure they transition into adult life,” Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, previously told The Center Square. “We should have that social safety net that is able to catch people when they are struggling the most, but these work requirements are not overly burdensome.”
Other Republican politicians in Sacramento did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comments on Wednesday.
The rule changes follow other restrictions made in the months after H.R. 1 passed. Permanent residents of the United States, who are not citizens, already saw their CalFresh benefits taken away as of April 1. Humanitarian refugees, immigrants who are on parole and human trafficking victims were also some of the immigrant groups restricted from being eligible for CalFresh benefits, according to the California Department of Social Services and previous reporting by The Center Square.
