{"id":32831,"date":"2026-06-17T14:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/?p=32831"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:38:13","slug":"calfresh-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:20px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p>As college costs continue to rise, CalFresh can help students afford groceries while balancing the costs of tuition, housing, transportation and other essentials. Beginning June 1, 2026, California is making it easier for many college students to qualify for CalFresh, helping more students access food support while focusing on their education.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><h2>A simpler path to CalFresh<\/h2>\n<p>As of June 1, 2026, undergraduate students enrolled at least half-time at California Community Colleges, California State University campuses and University of California campuses will no longer need to meet additional student work requirements to qualify for CalFresh.<\/p>\n<p>This change is separate from the federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-work-requirements-2026-are-you-affected\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SNAP work requirement updates<\/a> that took effect this year. While some CalFresh recipients may be affected by expanded work requirements, California has also taken steps to make it easier for many college students to qualify for benefits. Through the <a href=\"https:\/\/stgenssa.sccgov.org\/debs\/program_handbooks\/calfresh\/assets\/CalFresh\/Updates\/2026\/CalFresh_Update_2026-09.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Local Program to Increase Employment (LPIE)<\/a>, more students may now qualify for a student exemption, helping reduce barriers to accessing food support while attending school.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-3\"><h2>Why this matters and how it helps college students<\/h2>\n<p>Many students balance classes with jobs, family responsibilities and rising living costs. At the same time, previous eligibility rules could made it difficult for student to qualify for CalFresh, even for students facing challenges affording groceries.<\/p>\n<p>The new exemption helps reduce paperwork and eligibility hurdles, making it easier for eligible students to access benefits that can help stretch their grocery budgets. Additionally, as of March 1, 2026, grants, scholarships, loans and fellowships for higher education are no longer counted as income when determining CalFresh eligibility \u2014 another change that may help more students qualify. And students do not need to have a declared major to qualify.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\"><h2>Get help applying<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re a college student and aren&#8217;t sure whether you qualify for CalFresh, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley can help.<\/p>\n<p>Our team can answer questions, help you understand eligibility requirements and provide support with the application process. Even if you don\u2019t qualify for CalFresh, Second Harvest can connect you with free, nutritious food resources throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/get-food\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Connessione Alimentare<\/a> team is available Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our staff is multi-lingual and can support speakers in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Tagalog, with three-way interpretations available for other languages.<\/p>\n<p>Need help with CalFresh? Contact Second Harvest&#8217;s Food Connection Hotline at <a href=\"tel:+18009843663\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1-800-984-3663<\/a> o visita il nostro <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/calfresh-update\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CalFresh assistance page<\/a> to learn more and get application assistance.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":32834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026? | Second Harvest of Silicon Valley<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CalFresh for college students is now easier in 2026. Learn about the new work exemptions and get free application help from Second Harvest.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CalFresh for college students is now easier in 2026. Learn about the new work exemptions and get free application help from Second Harvest.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Second Harvest of Silicon Valley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/2ndharvest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T21:38:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Briza-College-Student.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"798\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michelle Denny\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@2ndharvest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@2ndharvest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Scritto da\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michelle Denny\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Tempo di lettura stimato\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minuti\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michelle Denny\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8596872a2e43a5913b4487c88f1c9545\"},\"headline\":\"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T21:38:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2003,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Briza-College-Student.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Impact\"],\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/\",\"name\":\"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026? | Second Harvest of Silicon Valley\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Briza-College-Student.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T21:38:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"CalFresh for college students is now easier in 2026. Learn about the new work exemptions and get free application help from Second Harvest.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Briza-College-Student.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Briza-College-Student.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":798},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/calfresh-college-students\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/\",\"name\":\"Second Harvest of Silicon Valley\",\"description\":\"Building a hunger-free community\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Second Harvest of Silicon Valley\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"it-IT\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/SHFB_Primary_Logo_RGB@2x-8.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/SHFB_Primary_Logo_RGB@2x-8.png\",\"width\":753,\"height\":575,\"caption\":\"Second Harvest of Silicon Valley\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/2ndharvest\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/2ndharvest\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/2ndharvest\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/second-harvest-food-bank\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/2ndharvest\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/Secondharvestfood\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@2ndharvest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/nl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8596872a2e43a5913b4487c88f1c9545\",\"name\":\"Michelle Denny\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.shfb.org\\\/it\\\/impact\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/mdennysterlingpr-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026? | Second Harvest of Silicon Valley","description":"CalFresh for college students is now easier in 2026. Learn about the new work exemptions and get free application help from Second Harvest.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/","og_locale":"it_IT","og_type":"article","og_title":"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?","og_description":"CalFresh for college students is now easier in 2026. Learn about the new work exemptions and get free application help from Second Harvest.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/","og_site_name":"Second Harvest of Silicon Valley","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/2ndharvest\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T21:38:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":798,"url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Briza-College-Student.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michelle Denny","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@2ndharvest","twitter_site":"@2ndharvest","twitter_misc":{"Scritto da":"Michelle Denny","Tempo di lettura stimato":"2 minuti"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/"},"author":{"name":"Michelle Denny","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#\/schema\/person\/8596872a2e43a5913b4487c88f1c9545"},"headline":"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?","datePublished":"2026-06-17T21:38:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/"},"wordCount":2003,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Briza-College-Student.jpg","articleSection":["Impact"],"inLanguage":"it-IT"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/","name":"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026? | Second Harvest of Silicon Valley","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Briza-College-Student.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T21:38:13+00:00","description":"CalFresh for college students is now easier in 2026. Learn about the new work exemptions and get free application help from Second Harvest.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"it-IT","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"it-IT","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Briza-College-Student.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Briza-College-Student.jpg","width":1200,"height":798},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/impact\/blog\/calfresh-college-students\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CalFresh for College Students: What\u2019s Changing in 2026?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/","name":"Secondo raccolto della Silicon Valley","description":"Costruire una comunit\u00e0 senza fame","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"it-IT"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#organization","name":"Secondo raccolto della Silicon Valley","url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"it-IT","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/SHFB_Primary_Logo_RGB@2x-8.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/SHFB_Primary_Logo_RGB@2x-8.png","width":753,"height":575,"caption":"Second Harvest of Silicon Valley"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/2ndharvest\/","https:\/\/x.com\/2ndharvest","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/2ndharvest\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/second-harvest-food-bank\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/2ndharvest\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Secondharvestfood","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@2ndharvest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/nl\/#\/schema\/person\/8596872a2e43a5913b4487c88f1c9545","name":"Michelle Denny","url":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/impact\/blog\/author\/mdennysterlingpr-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32831"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32838,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32831\/revisions\/32838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shfb.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}