Low-wage California families could lose CalFresh stores under USDA proposal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- USDA proposes raising CalFresh stocking rules from 12 items to 28, risking exits
- Small and corner stores lack refrigeration and may leave SNAP, reducing access
- Policy could remove nearby CalFresh retailers, forcing longer trips for enrollees
Federal regulators have proposed a rule that could make it harder for low-income families to find grocery stores that accept CalFresh benefits.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she aims to “strengthen the stocking requirements” for retailers in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP nationally and CalFresh in California.
The Department of Agriculture has long required grocers to carry three varieties of four staple food groups — dairy, protein, grains and produce — to be eligible to sell food to SNAP participants.
The draft policy would more than double the stocking requirement, increasing the number of required items from 12 to 28. Although billed as a way to ensure more healthy options for families, some nutrition experts said it could have the opposite effect.
Corner stores and small grocers are more likely than midsize or large food retailers to exit the program under the new rules, said Cassandra J. Nguyen, a nutrition expert at the University of California, Davis.
“The requirements to increase the number of staple foods come alongside the requirement for more of these items to be perishable, which will present challenges for smaller food retailers with limited refrigerated storage,” Nguyen said.
UCLA researcher Susan Babey said that the USDA’s own analysis found only 52% of small retailers stock enough dairy products to meet the proposed requirement, and just 63% meet the protein quota. About 80%, the USDA noted, already meet the proposed standards for grains and fruits and vegetables.
Food access on the line
In food deserts dominated by immigrant-owned corner stores, proprietors face difficult choices: invest in refrigeration, reduce or remove popular high-margin items to make room for SNAP-approved goods, or exit the program and lose a consistent stream of federally backed revenue.
If stores fall out of compliance, SNAP enrollees who live nearby would no longer be able to use their benefits there, Babey said. The next nearest eligible store could be miles away — a challenge for those without a car.
“All SNAP enrollees are low-income people,” Babey said. “They are more likely to have less access to a number of food retail stores. They’re more likely to live in food deserts. These small stores ... are sometimes the only option in food deserts.”
The USDA is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through Nov. 24 at regulations.gov. After the comment period, the agency could finalize, revise or withdraw the rule. If adopted, a timeline would be set for retailers to comply.
In a statement, the California Department of Social Services said it is reviewing the proposed rule and remains committed to maximizing food access for vulnerable residents.
Nguyen and Babey both said corner stores in low-income areas are often the only nearby source of healthy food. Nguyen cited USDA data showing nearly 22% of CalFresh transactions occur at small or convenience stores.
But some stores in working-class neighborhoods likely rely even more on CalFresh sales, said Stephanie Johnson, vice president of government relations for the National Grocers Association, in an interview with Grocery Dive.
Some stores may receive more than 60% of their revenue from SNAP purchases, she said, because recipients can buy more than just staple items.
‘Beautful bill’ limits access to food
The proposed rule follows other major changes expected to reduce SNAP sales, including the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, a federal spending measure passed earlier this year by congressional Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump.
The law excludes asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants from SNAP, and expands work requirements to include parents of teens age 14 and older and adults under age 65 — previously the cutoff was 55.
Because of those eligibility changes, Johnson estimated in a July 18 analysis that SNAP payments would decline by $88 billion over the next decade.
“Over the next six months, as SNAP participants are removed from the program, you may see a decrease in SNAP customers, which could impact sales up to 6.7%,” she wrote. “Over the next nine years, SNAP sales are expected to decrease on average by 8.7% from the current spending levels.”
Babey said SNAP has long required recipients between ages 16 and 59 to work or seek jobs, with exemptions for children, pregnant women, older adults and people with health conditions. About two-thirds of participants meet those exemptions, she said.
In 2023, 45% of low-income California adults — defined as earning $64,300 or less for a family of four — said they could not afford enough food, according to the California Health Interview Survey.
Encouraging stores to offer healthier food is good in principle, Babey said. That’s why the increased stocking requirements were written into the 2014 farm bill and codified in a 2016 rule.
But those measures were never implemented due to funding issues. If they take effect now, Babey said, they could worsen disparities in food access.
