People may lose food benefits due to new requirements coming in February | News

CalFresh waivers for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) are being impacted by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act requiring recipients to prove every six months that they are qualified for the benefits.

Those new requirements are expected by February of 2026.

“Everybody receiving CalFresh benefits, in order to continue to qualify for those benefits, will have to prove every six months that they have worked (or volunteered) 20 hours or more per week,” Rachel Peña, Director of Nevada County Social Services said.

The waivers will continue for people who are on disability, according to Peña, but the changes will now require veterans and foster youth between the ages of 18 and 25 to prove that they are working or volunteering 20 hours a week or more.

Adults with children over the age of 14 in the home will also have to prove they are working or volunteering at least 20 hours a week. That requirement dropped from 18 years old to 14 years old with the new federal law. Work requirements to determine eligibility for ABAWD are now enforced every six months, rather than every year, according to Peña, doubling the workload at social service departments in counties around the state.

“I just worry that people will fall off, and they won’t have those benefits,” Peña said.

The eligibility age that defines an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) also increased from 54 to 64, which means populations up to the age of 64 will now have to show proof of work or volunteer hours to county social services.

The State of California is estimating a reduction of $190 in CalFresh monthly support for a family of four, according to Peña.

The average monthly benefit per household in fiscal year 2025 is $353.27, according to CalFresh documents. The average monthly benefit per person is $188.74 in 2025.

That’s less disposable income people will have to spend on other products and services, potentially affecting local economies around the state.

“If low income folks are spending more of their money on food, then that means less money that they’ll be spending with all of our businesses in Nevada County,” Peña said. “We issue a little over $2 million per month in CalFresh benefits, and if that’s reduced significantly, that’s money that’s no longer in our local economy.”

The trickle-down effect will have an impact on families, health and wellness outcomes, as well as the local economy, Peña said.

People are going to have to start either looking for work or figuring out how to prove that they’re working or volunteering, according to Peña.

“We’re going to be reaching out to people and reminding them well in advance of when the waivers end at the end of January,” Peña said.

The county will be working with Connecting Point Volunteer Hub to make sure that the paperwork to show eligibility is getting done.

“We’re really going to work hard to make sure nobody who’s entitled to benefits loses them because of the paperwork,” Peña said.

No changes were made to the Market Match Program, which offers a $10 match for every $10 spent at a farmers market up to $30, but people will still have fewer dollars overall on their EBT cards.

CalFresh is the state’s name for the federal food assistance program known nationally as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Essentially, CalFresh is California’s version of SNAP.

Any kind of non-food items, which includes pet food, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, paper products, other household supplies such as batteries or lightbulbs, or hygiene items items such as soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products and diapers are not covered by SNAP.

“The Food Bank of Nevada County and Interfaith Food Bank will both be looking at serving more families, because people will fall off of their CalFresh benefits,” Peña said.

Impact on food banks, school lunches

Nonprofits in the area are experiencing an overall inconsistency in donations due to the uncertainty in the economy, according to Phil Alonso, Executive Director of the Interfaith Food Ministry (IFM) in Grass Valley.

“My fear is that people will be more reliant on us,” Alonso said.

Alonso has not seen any impact yet from the changes in the eligibility requirements for able bodied adults at this point in time; the change does not take effect until February 2026.

School lunch programs have not been affected by any federal cuts at this point either, according to Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Scott Lay.

“California has been backfilling any cuts to the food lunch program. So at this point in time, everything looks good for the families here in Nevada County,” Lay said.

Any cuts that were made at the federal level that affect school district budgets, which are approximately 5 percent, have been compensated by the state.

“California has stepped up and filled that need to make sure that the kids don’t go without food,” Lay said.

In addition, students may receive SUN Bucks intended to help families in California buy food during the summer months when school is closed and free school lunches are not available. SUN Bucks work just like CalFresh.

SUN Bucks is a permanent program that provides $120 per child ages 6 years to 18 years old in the summer.

Children can get SUN Bucks if they qualify for free or reduced-price school meals through a school meal application or Universal Benefits Application, or if they get CalFresh, CalWORKs, and/or Medi-Cal, certified at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, according to Ca.gov.

Sierra Harvest are partners in the school food community, and they were instrumental in helping get a program called Community Roots off the ground, helping the school districts.

“They’re a great partner, and have been for quite a while bringing the farm fresh food to our schools for kids to sample on a monthly basis,” Lay said. “With the cuts that Sierra Harvest has received, we’re trying to work with them and all the school districts and charter schools to figure out how we can keep those programs going. Trying to backfill it for them, for this coming school year, and keep it alive.”

The federal funding for the Community Roots program has been “paused” creating a challenge for Sierra Harvest, according to Eli Bacon, Executive director at Sierra Harvest.