The Market Match program, which matches CalFresh dollars spent at certified farmers markets, mobile markets and farmstands, received $15 million in the California state budget that took effect July 1.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s May proposal allocated zero dollars to the program as part of an effort to close the state’s deficit. The California Assembly and Senate wrote a one-time $15 million allocation for the program — administered under the California Nutrition Incentive Program — into their joint legislative budget proposal on June 11. Newsom signed a $352 billion budget after roughly two weeks of negotiations. Program administrators say the funds are designated for the 2026-27 fiscal year but may not be paid out until 2028 under the language of the bill.
Market Match matches up to $15 of CalFresh spending per visit and is used by roughly 650,000 Californians. Administrators had sought $20 million for 2026-27 and $30 million the following year. The state allocated $35 million in 2024, funds set to run out in early 2027. The program has never had a permanent or ongoing General Fund appropriation since it began in 2009, leaving it exposed each budget cycle.
Portia Bramble, food and farming program director at the Ecology Center, which oversees the program, said the plan is to continue at current scale: “We plan to continue the program as is for now and hopefully have some small expansions in the next year, but most likely not a significant growth in the number of sites.” Administrators say $15 million funds a program they estimate needs at least $20 million to operate, meaning expansion to additional markets is largely off the table.
The funding fight coincided with reductions to California food assistance under federal H.R. 1, including work-requirement enforcement that began in June and was projected to put roughly half a million Californians at risk of losing CalFresh.
For what real food actually costs when you buy it direct, see our breakdown of what a quarter cow costs in Southern California. Certified markets across the ten counties are listed in the markets directory.
Why this matters for SoCal: Market Match is the mechanism that makes a farmers market price-competitive with a grocery store for a CalFresh household, and it survived at a level that holds current sites steady but adds no new ones across the ten counties.
Source: Market Match program secures $15 million in funding — Gazetteer SF, July 2, 2026