Taxpayer-funded $3.2B fruit, vegetable program restarts

A taxpayer-funded $3 billion-plus program to provide food assistance recipients with fresh fruit and vegetables is back online after a $20 million cash infusion from California’s taxpayers.The latest allocation supplements roughly $3.2 billion worth of taxpayer spending on the CalFresh program, which is California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
According to an announcement from Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Electronic Benefit Transfer Program is back up after running out of money in June. The program gives CalFresh recipients up to an extra $60 every month to buy healthy, fresh fruit and vegetables.
“Our renewed investment in the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Program will provide critical relief for low-income families,” Lee told The Center Square on Friday. “This program is a proven solution in making fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable and reducing food insecurity. As the federal government slashes our anti-hunger programs, we are stepping up to ensure people have access to affordable and nutritious food. The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Program is a national model for reducing hunger, delivering real dollars back into the pockets of over half a million people.”
The beleaguered program has suffered on-and-off funding for much of its three-year lifespan, according to previous reporting by The Center Square. The program launched in 2023, allowing recipients of CalFresh to earn $1 back on their electronic benefit transfer card for every $1 they spent on fresh produce at participating grocery stores.
As budget cuts took effect to the federally-funded SNAP program, California politicians ramped up efforts to use more of California taxpayers’ money to supplement CalFresh benefits. The program got $36 million of taxpayers’ money in November 2025, but was suspended in June after that money ran out.
In fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported, federal taxpayer-funded SNAP program paid for food benefits for an average of 42.1 million people a month, up from 41.7 million people in fiscal year 2024. That cost American taxpayers $101.7 billion and averaged out to $187.94 per month to each SNAP recipient. The Center Square previously reported that in fiscal year 2024, federal SNAP funding cost $99.8 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal food stamp program.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture did not respond to The Center Square before publication time on Friday. Multiple politicians who are members of California’s Select Committee on CalFresh Enrollment and Nutrition did not respond to The Center Square or declined interviews. Organizations that advocate for taxpayer funding for CalFresh also did not respond to The Center Square.

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