Sacramento County faces million dollars budget shortfall for CalFresh admin funds

The federal government’s cuts that affect California’s food assistance program, leaves Sacramento County dealing with a possible budgetary shortfall in the millions of dollars.

A county spokesperson said Sacramento County faces a funding reduction of 50% to 25%. The budget legislation — called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — cut $1 trillion in federal health care programs. As a result, the county Department of Human Assistance is projecting a shortfall ranging from $6 million to nearly $24 million for administrative CalFresh funds, according to Ethan Dye, the director of the Department of Human Assistance.

CalFresh is California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It offers food benefits to low-income residents and families. This assistance is provided through an EBT card that goes to purchasing groceries.

What the final cut will be is still uncertain, Dye said. The worst case scenario, as Dye described it, would be federal funds only covering 25% of the county’s CalFresh cost share, with little support from the state government, causing the department to increase its entire payout. He said he doesn’t think that will happen, but predicting that outcome is difficult.

Dye said the outcome will depend on what Gov. Gavin Newsom’s funding announcement will be. This news is expected to come Jan. 10, he added.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dye said. “So, I’m preparing for Jan. 10, where the governor comes out and outlines what his responsibility, or what he wants to fund for next year.”

Consequences of a shift in funding responsibility

Changes to CalFresh and county services were presented to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in early December. Then, Tim Lutz, the director of the Department of Health Services, mentioned the department has concerns about the consequences of a $24 million hit — whether that would mean layoffs or that the county would have to look at other leases for physical offices.

“We may have to change our telework policies, closed buildings and have more people work from home to reduce costs,” Lutz said. “...I have some concerns on what it’s going to look like and being able to serve our community.”

Lutz’s presentation stated that, in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, California new share of cost will range from 50% to 70%. The state’s intention on whether it would, or how it would, fund the full 70% of CalFresh was not available, Lutz added.

The county’s burden ultimately depends on what California’s funding allocation will amount to, the county’s report stated. Under the California Welfare and Institutions Code, the cost-sharing between administering CalFresh is 70% from the state and 30% for Sacramento County.

So far, the county has already made adjustments, Dye said. In October, the county closed the Department of Human Assistance building on 28th Street. The county has also instilled cutbacks, including a hiring freeze within Human Assistance, the removal of travel and conference expenses, reduced overtime and the elimination of departmental vacancies, Dye said.

Other programs affected

CalFresh funding will not just affect that program, but other programs that rely on county, state and federal dollars. This includes CalWorks, Medi-Cal, the county’s general assistance and foster care program, Lutz said.

“The reduction in CalFresh benefits, CalFresh administrative benefits will have a direction correlation to increase spending to the county and some of our county only programs,” Lutz said.

In the meantime, Dye encouraged residents to continue sign up for CalFresh, despite the funding uncertainties. He said he would not let administrative concerns prevent residents from applying.

“If you’re eligible, you’re eligible,” Dye said. “We’re going to do everything we can to get you the funds and the services that you’re eligible for.”

This story was originally published December 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

Emma Hall

The Sacramento Bee

916-321-1047

Emma Hall covers Sacramento County for The Sacramento Bee. Hall graduated from Sacramento State and Diablo Valley College. She is Blackfeet and Cherokee.