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How Much Do College Students Get from CalFresh Each Month?

POLICY BRIEF: How Much Do College Students Get from CalFresh Each Month? PDF

PRESS RELEASE: New report finds most college students who access CalFresh benefits receive over $100 a month

College students face higher rates of food insecurity than the general population, and programs like CalFresh can help them afford nutritious meals. CalFresh benefits can provide a significant boost to student’s food budgets, and the researchers found that on average, UC undergraduate students receive larger monthly benefit amounts than California Community College students. Before the pandemic, UC undergraduates received $161 in monthly benefits, on average, as compared to $123, on average for Community College students. The researchers found that temporary federal policy changes during the pandemic nearly doubled these amounts to $303 and $245, respectively.

Key Findings

1. From Fall 2019 to Fall 2021, CCC students’ average per person monthly benefits nearly doubled, from $123 to $245. For UC undergraduates, average per person monthly benefits increased from $161 to $303. 

2. Among UC undergraduate and CCC students receiving CalFresh, single person households receive more benefits per person than do larger households, on average. UC undergraduate students are much more likely to participate in CalFresh as a household size of one (81% of cases) than CCC students (34% of cases).

3. Two-thirds (67%) of participating CCC students and 87% of participating UC undergraduate students received $100 or more per person each month in Fall 2019.

4. During the pandemic (fall 2021), most students received over $200 per month (87% of CCC students and 95% of UC undergraduate students). The majority of UC undergraduate students received at least $300 per month.

Suggested citation: Perez, A., Ayers, S., Hogg, J., Lacoe, J., Rothstein. (2025). How Much Do College Students Get from CalFresh Each Month? California Policy Lab, University of California. https://capolicylab.org/how-much-do-college-students-get-from-calfresh-each-month/



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