How does the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable Incentive work with EBT balance? Confused about the $20 produce bonus

It's definitely confusing! The Market Match/fruit & veggie incentive is ADDITIONAL money on top of your regular CalFresh benefits. So in your example, if you have $250 regular benefits and get $50 produce incentive, you'd have a total of $300 to spend. But the $50 can ONLY be used for fruits and vegetables at participating locations. Your regular $250 balance stays intact no matter how much of the produce incentive you use. It's basically free extra money for healthy food! Each market handles it differently though - some give you tokens, others load it directly to your EBT card.

ya its extra $ they give u for fruits n stuff. i use mine at the farmers market near me and they just swipe my ebt then give me wooden tokens to spend. super easy

The California Market Match program works differently depending on where you shop. At farmers markets, you typically swipe your EBT card at the info booth for whatever amount you want to spend (say $20) and they'll give you $20 in tokens PLUS up to $20 in matching funds (varies by location) to spend on fruits and vegetables. Your CalFresh account is only charged for the initial amount ($20), not the matching funds. At participating grocery stores (like Mother's Market), they're piloting programs where the discount happens automatically at checkout when you buy eligible produce. Your regular balance stays the same - the incentive is additional. The amount of the incentive can vary from 50% match up to 100% match depending on the location and available funding. It's worth asking each market what their specific match is!

I went to mothers last week and was so confused lol!!! they have signs saying EBT users get extra $$ for produce but when I checked out nothing happened?? The cashier had NO idea what I was talking about. Had to ask for manager who explained you have to sign up for their rewards program first and link your EBT card. Such a headache!! But now its automatic when I shop there.

everyone's answers r different bc each store does it different!! so confusing. at the sunday market near me they double whatever u spend up to $30. so if u spend $30 calfresh they give u another $30 in wooden coins for fruits/veggies only. but u cant use the regular calfresh on prepared food there just the raw ingredients. the whole system is weird tbh

I've been trying to reach someone at my county office to ask about this exact question for TWO WEEKS with no luck. Just endless holds and disconnections. Finally I used Claimyr to get through (https://claimyr.com - there's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8). They called the county for me and got me connected to a real person in about 15 minutes who explained everything about the produce incentives. Apparently in my county it's called Fresh Fund and works slightly differently than some other programs. Might be worth calling your specific county to check the details for your area.

The program you're referring to is either Market Match (at farmers markets) or the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Program (at select grocery stores like Mother's). To answer your specific question: YES, if your regular CalFresh balance is $250 and you get $50 in produce incentives, you'll still have your full $250 for other purchases. The incentive money is completely separate and additional. For participating grocery stores in 2025, the system automatically adds the incentive when you purchase eligible produce using your EBT card. The amount is typically 50% of your produce purchase up to a monthly maximum (varies by store). For farmers markets, most require you to visit the information booth first to get your matching funds as tokens or vouchers before shopping. Important note: These programs have specific funding limits, so the incentive amounts can change throughout the year based on available funding. It's always good to ask at each location what their current match rate is.

UPDATE: I just wanted to share that I called BenefitsCal today (took forever to get through) and asked about this program. For anyone interested, they said the 2025 produce incentive programs vary by county. In my county, they're expanding to more stores this year including some major supermarket chains! So definitely worth asking about specifically for your location.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm new to CalFresh and had no idea about these produce incentive programs. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the key things to remember are: 1) It's extra money on top of your regular benefits, 2) Can only be used for fresh fruits/vegetables, 3) Each location works differently (farmers markets vs grocery stores), and 4) You might need to ask specifically about it since not all cashiers know about the programs. Going to check if my local farmers market participates this weekend!

Just wanted to add something that might help with budgeting - I've been using CalFresh for about a year now and participate in Market Match at my local farmers market. One tip I learned the hard way: the produce incentive money usually expires at the end of each visit/transaction, so you can't save it up like your regular benefits. At farmers markets, if they give you $20 in wooden tokens, you need to spend those tokens that same day or you lose them. This is different from your regular CalFresh balance which rolls over month to month. So when planning your shopping, make sure you can actually use all the bonus produce money in one trip! Also, some markets have seasonal variations - mine does higher match rates during summer when local produce is abundant. Worth asking about!