Food banks warn state CalFood funding will fall 90% without budget action; fruit-and-vegetable EBT pilot burned funds quickly

California’s network of food banks and state officials told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Human Services that a sharp reduction in state CalFood funding would force food banks to cut distribution amounts, reduce paid staff and close distribution sites.

At the same hearing, CDSS and food-bank representatives described the CalFresh fruit-and-vegetable Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) pilot as popular and fast‑spending: the incentive account that gave up to $60 per calendar month to participating CalFresh households burned through available funds very quickly and was paused in January 2025 after a heavy rate of take‑up.

Why it matters: CalFood and the EBT incentive pilot are designed to increase healthy food access and to keep state food-purchasing dollars circulating in California’s agricultural economy. Food banks described continued high demand for emergency food and said an abrupt funding cliff would weaken the emergency food system during disasters and ongoing high need.

What officials and food banks said

- CDSS said CalFood (a state program that allocates funds to food banks to buy California‑grown food) had been supported at roughly $60 million annually in recent years through one‑time infusions; it will revert to a $8 million baseline on July 1, 2025. The department said food banks have already planned adjustments and some have reduced the amount distributed per recipient.

- The California Association of Food Banks reported that CalFood purchases accounted for about 80 million pounds of food in 2024 (about 94 million meals) and represented 37% of the food banks’ food purchasing budget. Food banks told the committee that demand remains at or above pandemic levels in many regions.

- CDSS described the CalFresh fruit-and-vegetable pilot: a 1:1 incentive up to $60 monthly for purchases of fruits and vegetables at participating retailers and farmers markets. The pilot served 88,765 CalFresh households and delivered more than $7.3 million in incentives before operations were paused in January 2025 because funding was exhausted; CDSS estimated $36.4 million would be required to sustain the current pilot at scale and roughly $2.3 billion to reach the entire CalFresh caseload.

Advocates’ view

- Food-bank leaders urged the committee to restore CalFood to a multiyear, stable funding level near $60 million so food banks can maintain distribution volume and reliability. The Sacramento Food Bank estimated that a local food bank in its region would drop from roughly $2.2 million a year to $260,000 if the CalFood appropriation reverts to baseline.

- Advocacy groups urged lawmakers to fund a $63 million continuation of the fruit-and-vegetable pilot so the program can run year‑round and scale to more retailers and counties; advocacy testimony emphasized health impacts for families with diet‑related chronic disease.

Quotes

"Hunger is on the rise," Becky Silva of the California Association of Food Banks told the subcommittee. "Most food banks would have to limit or reduce the amount and variety of food offered per household" if CalFood funding drops to baseline.

"This pilot has been a successful proof of concept for how incentive technology can work," CDSS said, but added the department would have to budget to manage retailer integrations and operate the program at permanent scale.

What the committee asked and next steps

Members asked for county‑specific effects and CDSS and food banks provided local estimates. The department and the Legislative Analyst’s Office offered to provide technical assistance on program design and cost estimates if the legislature chooses to expand or sustain the pilot or to stabilize CalFood funding.

Ending

Food-bank leaders requested that the committee prioritize multiyear funding so the emergency food network can plan for disasters and meet persistent high demand.