Berkeley, August 4, 2026 – New research from the nonpartisan California Policy Lab shows that CalFresh participation among California college students continued to rise in the 2023-24 academic year, growing across all three public higher education segments in the state.This is the first data point in the series (CPL has been publishing the data points since the 2019-20 academic year) to also include CSU students, offering the most complete picture yet of how many California college students rely on CalFresh (known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) to help pay for food.
“The fact that we’re seeing more students enrolling in CalFresh, particularly in a year without the extra pandemic-era additional benefits, points to the role that state policy and campus outreach efforts have likely played, and may also reflect increased needs as costs of food continue to increase,” explained co-author Jesse Rothstein, Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy, David P. Gardner Professor of Higher Education, Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education.
In Academic Year (AY) 2023-24, participation rose across all three public higher education segments.
- Among community college students, participation increased by 0.8 percentage points to 15.2%, with approximately 320,000 students receiving CalFresh — about 42,000 more than the prior year.
- At CSU, undergraduate participation rose by 1.3 percentage points to 16.4%, with roughly 73,000 undergraduates participating, about 5,600 more than the prior year; CSU graduate student participation rose by 0.6 percentage points to 10.8%, with approximately 8,100 participating.
- At UC, undergraduate participation increased by 0.7 percentage points to 21.4%, with approximately 52,000 students participating, and graduate student participation rose slightly (+0.1 percentage points) to 12.4%, with approximately 8,200 students — though declining enrollment meant about 100 fewer UC graduate students participated than the year before, despite the higher rate.
This is the first school year since COVID-era federal SNAP policies ended, and participation kept growing, but at a slower pace than peak-pandemic years. Pandemic-era policies had nearly doubled average monthly benefit amounts and expanded student eligibility for CalFresh, but this was the first year after these policies ended. Despite the policies expiring, participation rates continued to increase across all segments, though at a slower pace than during the pandemic years.
Additional key findings include:
- California Community College (CCC) regions — CalFresh participation increased in every CCC region. The Central Valley had both the highest participation rate (23.0%) and the largest increase from the prior year (+1.4 percentage points), while the Bay Area continued to have the lowest participation rate (10.4%).
- CSU campuses — Participation rose at most of CSU’s 23 campuses, though it declined at six. CSU Chico, CSU Humboldt, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had the highest participation rates for both undergraduate and graduate students; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo saw by far the largest increases for both groups (+12.8 and +7.4 percentage points, respectively).
- UC campuses — While overall UC participation increased slightly, rates declined at UC Berkeley, UC Merced, and UC Riverside for undergraduates, and at all UC campuses except UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Riverside for graduate students.
- Financial aid — Participation remained fairly consistent among students receiving need-based aid: about 32.9% of CCC students, 42.9% of UC undergraduates, and 28.6% of CSU undergraduates who received a Pell or Cal Grant also received CalFresh.
- Race and ethnicity — Participation increased across nearly all reported racial and ethnic groups. Black/African American students had among the highest participation rates across segments, while the largest increases (2 or more percentage points) were seen among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community college students, White CSU undergraduates, and American Indian/Alaska Native UC undergraduates.
- Age and tenure — CCC participation was highest among students aged 30-34 (20.4%), who also saw the largest increase. Among CSU undergraduates, second- and third-year students had the highest rates, with third-years seeing the largest increase (+2.5 percentage points). Among UC undergraduates, third-year students had the highest rate, and participation rose for all class levels except first-year students (-1.2 percentage points).
This research is conducted through the California College Data and Policy Project (CCDPP), a joint initiative of the California Policy Lab and the Center for Studies in Higher Education. The CCDPP generates new insights on what works to better support California students and their families as they move through the education system.
For more information about CPL’s Student Supports project, please see this overview.
The California Policy Lab generates research insights for government impact. Through hands-on partnerships with government agencies, CPL performs rigorous research across issue silos and builds the data infrastructure necessary to improve programs and policies that millions of Californians rely on every day.