News | L.A. Times | March 2023

Pandemic food benefits are ending for millions of Californians. Now what?

Nearly 3 million households in California will stop receiving extra federal food benefits granted during the COVID-19 pandemic, a squeeze on budgets that comes as people continue to struggle with the rising cost of living.

Since March 2020, low-income Californians have seen an increase in CalFresh benefits, the state’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. But that emergency relief ends this month because Congress voted to terminate the extra benefits as part of the federal omnibus spending plan.