(Sacramento, CA) — Assemblymember Lisa Calderon introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 2299 to establish the California Antihunger Response and Employment Training (CARET) Act. This bill will establish a state-funded benefit type to maintain food benefits for those who lose access to CalFresh due to federal funding cuts.
“With the signing of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, federal funding to SNAP and CalFresh have been drastically cut. These cuts initiate stricter work requirements, remove eligibility for lawfully present immigrants, and shift billions of dollars in costs onto the state,” said Assemblymember Lisa Calderon. “As a result, Californians will lose access to the CalFresh benefits that puts food on the table. These are our seniors on a fixed income, our children and our veterans who sacrificed for our country. That is why I introduced Assembly Bill 2299.”
Background
In 2025, President Trump signed HR 1, which expanded rigid work hour thresholds impacting those who receive CalFresh benefits. As a result, an estimated 665,000 of the state’s most at-risk communities may lose access to food assistance. The CARET Act seeks to close this gap with a state-funded program.
There are various populations of Californians that are eligible for CalFresh, some with unique criteria that they must meet. One specific criteria applies to those referred to federally as Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD), or what we refer to as time-limited individuals. With the passage of HR 1, multiple changes were made to the rule, including expanding work requirement time limits to more Californians.
Currently, no one is subject to CalFresh time limits in California, as the state has had a waiver from the time limit benefits. However, California’s waiver expired on January 31, 2026, and HR 1’s new rules go into effect on June 1, 2026. Under these new rules, a person subject to the time limits, can only receive CalFresh benefits for three months within a 3-year period unless they can demonstrate they are working a minimum of 20 hours a week every month, or they have an exemption.
As a result of the lapsed waiver and passage of HR 1, the population subjected to time limits expanded to include people who were previously exempt. This includes veterans, former foster youth, older adults aged 55–64, people with dependent children older than 13, and people experiencing homelessness.
Work-related time limits are cruel and unnecessary. They cause people to lose access to food they desperately need. Many people subject to work requirements face barriers such as unstable housing, health limitations, lack of transportation, and caregiving responsibilities—making rigid hourly requirements difficult, even for those actively seeking work.
Furthermore, time limits disproportionately harm communities already facing discrimination and employment barriers. Black and Hispanic communities are more than twice as likely to participate in SNAP than their white peers, leaving them particularly vulnerable to strict work requirements that make it harder to receive or keep this important source of support.[i]
A Community-Backed Solution
AB 2299 remedies these problems by ensuring our most vulnerable communities can provide food for their family by establishing CARET benefits. These benefits:
- Protect the same number of individuals who receive CalFresh prior to the rule change;
- Serve people who have lost their CalFresh benefits until they are able to meet the work requirements, receive a waiver, or regain CalFresh benefits;
- Encourage employment and training opportunities to stimulate the economy.
During a press conference held on March 13th, 2026, supporters of the measure delivered powerful statements highlighting the importance of the CARET Act:
“One in four people in Los Angeles County are struggling with food insecurity, which means they’re having a hard time meeting their food needs on a consistent basis,” said Michael Flood, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. “That’s 2.5 million people – seniors, children, families – people from all walks of life, struggling.”
“Across Los Angeles County, families who rely on CalFresh and other assistance are struggling to put meals on the table because of the Trump administration’s harmful policies,” stated First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Chair of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. “Seniors, children, and people of all abilities are now at risk of going without food. The time to act is now.”
“When Washington, DC politics threaten to take food off Californians’ tables—whether for immigrant families or working parents—this bill protects those who can least afford to lose support,” said Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson). “It preserves critical benefits, strengthens our CalFresh providers, and expands job training and employment opportunities that fuel our economy.”
“As a CalFresh recipient, I have not received any alerts, I did not know that this was happening. As a child of a single mother who utilized community and food resources as I was growing up, and as a CalFresh member off and on since 2024, [CalFresh] has helped supplement my income,” stated Diane Burkholder, CalFresh Recipient and Labor Organizer. “As of today, about 70% of my food comes from the CalFresh program. According to the 2025 Long Beach Community Health Needs Assessment, 82% of Long Beach Residents reported that they were severely or very-severely impact by food insecurity. That means only 18% of residents that reported feel that they have enough food to eat.”
“As long as Western Center has existed, this is the largest cut to benefits that this program has ever seen. I can’t overstate it enough – this is a looming humanitarian crisis,” Cori Racela, Executive Director of the Western Center on Law & Poverty. “We see that food unaffordability is increasing all the time. This crisis makes food unattainable for people who are losing their benefits. We can prevent this. We have the moral duty to prevent this. If we are the California we want to be, if we are leaders in the country, if we are standing to the Trump Administration and their attacks on working and low-income families, we must pass AB2299.”
Additionally, supporters in attendance included:
- California Association of Food Banks
- End Child Poverty California
- Hunger Action LA
- Interfaith Food Center
- Rosaelva Lomeli, President, Rio Hondo Board of Trustees
- Teresa Dreyfuss, Rio Hondo Board of Trustees Superintendent
- Carlo Flores-Olson, Rio Hondo Student Trustee
- Dr. Jessica Perea, Rio Hondo College Basic Needs Center
- Rosa Moncada, Director, Rio Hondo College Student Life and Leadership Office
- Long Beach City College
- Pamela Sepulveda, Manager, Cerritos College Falcon’s Nest Program
- Eliana McElderry, Graduate Student of Social Work/Casework Manager, Cerritos College Falcon’s Nest Program
- Tice Watson, Student Advocate, Cerritos College Falcon’s Nest Program
Through the creation of the CARET benefits type California can protect our communities from ongoing attacks on vital social services, making sure people aren’t left hungry during their most vulnerable moments.
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