CalFresh Changes and Social Media Age Restrictions: Key Updates

Starting today, significant changes to CalFresh, California's version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), take effect, tightening work requirements and time limits for a broader group of recipients. The changes, stemming from the federal domestic policy bill H.R.

1 passed last summer, will affect approximately 550,000 people across the state, according to Jared Call of the California Association of Food Banks. Previously, able-bodied adults without dependents were subject to a 20-hour-per-week work, volunteer, or school requirement, but now the age limit has increased from 55 to 64, and parents with children aged 14 and older must also comply.

Exemptions require a doctor's note, except in counties with unemployment above 10%, such as Monterey County, where all CalFresh recipients are exempt. In Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, those unable to prove exemption will be limited to three months of benefits.

Call warned that the new red tape will burden struggling families, and food banks, already facing sustained demand since the pandemic, expect increased need as recipients begin losing benefits in September. Separately, the ACLU and tech industry advocates are opposing a bill that would ban social media platforms with "addictive features" from allowing users under 16.

The bill's author, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of Long Beach, argues it holds tech companies accountable for designs that keep users hooked, comparing engagement systems to slot machines. The measure passed the Assembly with bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate.