FULLERTON, Calif. — April marks the first month of diminished funds for families with SNAP benefits, California’s food stamps program, as pandemic-era funding expired in March. Some households are now seeing several hundred dollars less each month in their EBT card accounts. With record-high inflation and rising rent — families are feeling the pinch.

What You Need To Know

  • On average, households will lose $261 per month, according to The California Department of Social Services

  • The steep reduction in funds comes at a time when inflation is at a 40-year high, gas prices are above average, and some families are struggling with higher-than-normal utility bills and rising rent

  • In November 2022, there were 5,011,579 Californians receiving CalFresh benefits, according to data from the State’s Social Services Department

That includes 18-year-old Gustavo De Lara. He lives in Fullerton with six siblings and his mother, who works long hours cleaning homes in Los Angeles.

When he’s not helping his mother watch the kids, Gustavo De Lara works as a busboy, using his paycheck to help his mother with rent.

After years of struggling to keep food on the table, his family has been doing better, but he said funds are still tight — especially amid record-high inflation.

“It was even harder for us, you know, [with] a bunch of kids here, we have to buy food for six kids. That’s a lot of money,” he said.

He said a saving grace in the last two years has been their EBT food stamp cards that they use to buy groceries.

But now that pandemic-era relief money has dried up, families enrolled in the SNAP benefits are receiving hundreds of dollars less in their accounts each month.

Bruno Serato runs a bustling Italian restaurant in Orange County called Anaheim White House.

He’s also the founder of Caterina’s Club, a nonprofit organization that feeds, houses and offers job training to struggling families. Serato said that with less money going out in SNAP benefits, they’re ready to step up for families in need, much like they did during the pandemic.

“During COVID was the biggest time ever. I used to do food distribution at different locations, and now I’m looking carefully, [because] without the financial help from the government that they used to do, I think some families are going to have a difficult time economically,” Serato said.