Budget Cuts Threaten Program That Doubles Food Dollars for Californians in Need

College student Sean Bickety shops for produce at the LA River Farmers’ Market in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. Photo: Irfan Khan for Capital & Main.

Every time Sean Bickety attends the LA River Farmers’ Market in Los Angeles’ Chinatown and pulls out his EBT card, he initiates a process that advocates say has become a quietly effective part of California’s push to provide its lower-income residents with access to healthy food.

The debit card carries Bickety’s electronic balance of funds from CalFresh, the state’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. But when he swipes the card for $15 worth of produce at LA River, his money is instantly doubled to $30 thanks to a program called Market Match.