SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - The University of California, San Diego and Mother’s Nutritional Center celebrate the launch of a historic pilot project, advancing new technologies in EBT benefits– a resource for food accessibility in underserved communities. 

The University of California, San Diego Center for Community Health at the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, in collaboration with Mother’s Nutritional Center and the California Department of Social Services, have launched the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) Pilot Project. This pilot project provides CalFresh recipients the opportunity to earn up to $60 per month in nutrition incentives when they purchase fresh fruits and vegetables with their CalFresh benefits at any one of 79 Mother’s Nutritional Center stores across Southern California (Store Locator). 

For every $1 of CalFresh benefits that CalFresh recipients spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at any Mother’s Nutritional Center store, they get $1 back on their CalFresh EBT card (up to $60 per month) that they can then spend on any CalFresh EBT-eligible food (more fruits and vegetables, bread, grains, nuts, dairy, meat, etc.) at any CalFresh EBT authorized retailer. 

The pilot project aims to support the further development and implementation of a statewide program that increases access to, and consumption of healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, and that improves nutrition and health status among CalFresh recipients. “The participants who walk into our stores still can’t believe they are the recipients of this incredible additional food assistance. An extra $60 a month means a lot to them. It’s a huge benefit that they can now put additional fresh and nutritious foods on the table for their families. Mother’s Nutritional Center is very honored to be a steward for this program” shared Richard Flores, President of Mother’s Nutritional Center. 

With extra funds allocated during the pandemic having come to an end in March of 2023, low-income families in California have found themselves stretching their resources even further than before, finding it more difficult to afford healthy food for their families. “These pilot projects will allow people receiving CalFresh to put more healthy food on the table, which not only supports families, but also local economies throughout California,” California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Director Kim Johnson said. 

Originally planned to run through the end of December 2023, the pilot project has received a resounding vote of confidence through recent statewide legislation. The 2023-2024 budget passed by the California legislature and signed by the Governor extended the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project with an infusion of more than $9 million for the pilot project, allowing for sustained impact and continued support for low-income families across California. 

With the launch of the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project at all Mother’s Nutritional Center stores, the pilot project has reached a new phase. “This pilot project provides significant social and economic benefit,” said Joe Prickitt, Program Director at UC San Diego Center for Community Health. “It reduces hunger and improves health for CalFresh families while also supporting California’s fruit and vegetable farmers who grow so much of the produce we eat.” When UC San Diego Center for Community Health launched its initial United States Department of Agriculture nutrition incentive program in 2017, grocers asked why they couldn't simply add the nutrition incentives onto the CalFresh EBT card. In order to do this, California needed to make significant technological changes to its electronic food benefits systems. Thanks to the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project, these changes have now taken place, which has allowed a select number of California grocers and farmers’ markets to add nutrition incentives directly to program participants’ CalFresh EBT accounts. This innovative and historic pilot project will ultimately make it easier for other retailers to develop and implement similar capabilities across California and nationwide. 

To learn more about the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project, please visit www.masfrescoplusebt.org, and the California Fruit & Vegetable EBT Pilot Project Newsletter and Video.