On CalFresh? What to know about new June 1 work requirements

This article originally appeared on KQED.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, California will begin enforcing new and expanded federal guidelines that require some CalFresh recipients to work 20 hours a week, or an average of 80 hours a month — with a stark reduction in food benefits for those who don’t fulfill the requirements.

Approximately 5.5 million people use CalFresh in California, including more than 100,000 in Alameda County. And since 2020, California, like several other states, has exempted its residents from the federal government’s longstanding (and contentious) “time limit” policy, which mandates that any Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients who don’t meet federal work requirements can only receive three months of food benefits in three years.

But now, due to H.R. 1 — the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” authored by President Donald Trump’s administration — California’s ability to waive work requirements for the entire state has been limited to only seven counties, none of them in the Bay Area.

The work requirements also now apply nationally to a wider range of people, including people up to 64 years old and parents with children 14 and older.

“The changes that go into effect on June 1 make several unprecedented changes to this policy, which was already incredibly cruel, and decades of research have shown that it’s ineffectual,” said Andrew Cheyne, managing director at the County Welfare Directors Association.

The state has already started rolling out directives from the Trump administration that have impacted eligibility for CalFresh. For example, in April, California began to enforce a requirement that barred some humanitarian immigrants from signing up for food benefits.

Advocates like Cheyne have expressed alarm about the barriers to food access that are being increased by these directives — additional “burdens for recipients who are experiencing poverty-related hunger,” he said.

“We’re seeing in other states’ data just devastating drops in the SNAP caseload,” he said. “Not because people are ineligible. Not because they are getting good jobs with good wages. But because of the inability to navigate the red tape that Congress enacted in H.R. 1.”

Cheyne warned that without significant investment in county workers to support residents through these changes, hundreds of thousands of recipients could lose access to CalFresh after the H.R. 1 updates.

The coming impact of CalFresh changes in June

California’s SNAP changes in June will not apply to everyone. And some people, like those who are pregnant, may be exempt from the work hours guidelines.

Trent Rhorer, executive director of the San Francisco Human Services Agency, said 112,000 people in the city receive CalFresh benefits. He estimated these new work requirements may apply to 18% of them: about 19,300 people.

Rhorer said his office is aiming to reach out to SNAP users who might be impacted through community organizations, to provide them more information about the changes in eligibility and “make this requirement as easy as possible to fulfill for CalFresh recipients.”

“Safety net supports, such as food or healthcare, should be provided to low-income people unconditionally,” he said. “There shouldn’t be additional bureaucratic hoops to jump through. There shouldn’t be work requirements ascribed to services that we provide that meet basic human needs.”

What are the new CalFresh work requirements, and who will be affected?

The major change: Starting June 1, CalFresh recipients between the ages of 18 and 64 who do not live with a child under the age of 14 are required to fulfill a certain number of work hours.

(Nationally, the age threshold for federal SNAP work requirements was previously 55. Parents or caregivers with a child age 17 or younger were also exempt.)

CalFresh recipients who are subject to work requirements must complete 20 hours of work-related activities a week, or an average of 80 hours a month.

If you’re not exempt (see below) and you’re not working or participating in the eligible work activities outlined below, you can only receive CalFresh benefits for three months out of 36 months, i.e., three years.

An important detail on timing: The eligibility guidelines will first apply to new CalFresh applicants starting June 1. Current SNAP recipients in California will only be subject to these rules once they recertify their benefits, said Rhorer.

What if you’re applying for CalFresh before June 1? “Applications that are submitted now are applied under the current rules,” Cheyne said.

This means that if you’re one of the people eligible for the CalFresh work requirements starting June 1, applying for SNAP before that date would mean you’d receive a year of food benefits without being subject to the work rules, before you eventually recertify. (For most people, recertifying is an annual process.)

How do I fulfill the new CalFresh work requirements?

According to the San Francisco HSA’s website, work-related activities that satisfy these requirements include:

• Working at a job
• Volunteering or doing community service
• Participating in a job training or employment program (in San Francisco, this could be through SFHSA)
• Enrolled in school less than half-time or in a training program (which in San Francisco could include City College classes like GED or English as a second language, according to Rhorer).

On its website, SFHSA said that the “work activities also need to be documented and can be combined from different activities for a total of 80 hours per month.”

There are some positions — like a job at a nonprofit — where recipients can work fewer than 80 hours per month.

However, a CalFresh recipient would need to check with their Benefits Program to see if they still qualify with these reduced work hours. A list of county offices can be found on an interactive map on CalFresh’s website, with the closest to Berkeley located in North Oakland and reachable at 510-891-0700. You can also call CalFresh at 1-877-847-3663.

If you’re on CalFresh, your county may have opportunities or referrals for work or job training. For example, Alameda County has a CalFresh Employment & Training Program for recipients not already in CalWORKs.

Which CalFresh recipients are exempt from work requirements?

CalFresh recipients should check with the Benefits Program to make sure the exceptions apply to them, but broadly, exemptions from the federal government include:

• Being younger than 18
• Being older than 64
• Pregnancy
• Having a “physical or mental health condition that prevents you from working”
• Receiving other benefits, like unemployment insurance or Supplemental Security Income
• In a substance use disorder program
• Caregiving for a person with a disability
• Member of a federally recognized tribe
• Participating in a program like CalWORKS
• Going to school at least part-time (and adhering to student eligibility requirements).

Veterans, some people experiencing homelessness and former foster youth were previously also exempt from federal work requirements to access SNAP, but may be newly subject to these rules starting June 1.

What about those California counties that are still exempt from CalFresh work requirements?

Both states and Congress have worked to waive benefit limits related to work requirements in times of economic distress, including the Great Recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

And before the Trump administration’s H.R.1 bill, some states, including California, were able to get waivers exempting some or all SNAP recipients from work requirements due to an insufficient number of job opportunities.

These waivers are now restricted to California counties with an unemployment rate of 10% and greater — which only applies to “very few areas,” Cheyne said. None of them is in the nine-county Bay Area.

Until Oct. 31 this year, SNAP recipients in these California counties will remain exempt from work requirements:

• Alpine
• Colusa
• Imperial
• Merced
• Monterey
• Plumas
• Tulare

Where can CalFresh recipients go for more information or support?

Cheyne reminded current CalFresh users that these new work requirements won’t apply to them until they recertify their SNAP benefits.

Once their case is up for renewal, people should look for information from their county on how to continue their food benefits. A list of county offices can be found on an interactive map on CalFresh’s website. You can also call CalFresh at 1-877-847-3663.

But Cheyne warned CalFresh users that county workers likely see a higher volume of cases and paperwork, which could impact their ability to serve SNAP recipients like this.

He recommended that CalFresh users call their usual SNAP office when the time for recertification is coming up. Because of California’s yearslong waiver on work requirements, “this is going to be new for everyone, all of the recipients and all of the workers,” he said.

Cheyne pointed to Massachusetts, which has already implemented the new eligibility guidelines and has seen “a dramatic drop-off in eligible households … families who are trying to get through, who need assistance.”

“But the workers are simply overwhelmed by the volume of workload and can’t keep up with the cases.”

​​Richmondside is a media partner of KQED, a listener-supported public radio station serving Northern California. Richmondside occasionally republishes KQED stories we believe will be of interest to our readers.