'It's like jumping through hoops': CalFresh cuts push L.A. families and farmers to the brink

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Set us as preferred It’s a sweltering hot Thursday morning at the Central Avenue Farmers Market.Out of school for the summer, some kids chase each other around vendor booths while others snore in strollers next to their parents.

Spirits seem high as laughter and conversations in Spanish and English mingle in the air.Today marks a new beginning for the neighborhood.When ICE raids rattled the South L.A.

community about a year ago, market organizers decided to move the weekly farmers market to a private courtyard — a hidden, cramped enclosure that was fenced off from the sidewalk.Alejandro Corona, the market manager, still remembers the incident last June that persuaded them to relocate.“There was a lady actually coming out from the bus, she just walked down, and they took her,” he said.

“Our customers were not feeling safe.”Now the market is as visible as ever, with colorful, bilingual signs that advertise EBT, agricultural programs and other social services.“Today we’re celebrating,” Corona says.He and other market organizers passed out refreshments to the vendors — tokens of appreciation for coming back outside amid continuing uncertainty.Although ICE raids aren’t as rampant here as they were a year ago, the South Central community faces new challenges in the midst of changes to federal spending.

Since the Trump administration passed HR 1, more commonly known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” on July 4, 2025, EBT, known as CalFresh in California, is facing some of its largest funding cuts in U.S.history.

Other changes include an increased budget of $85 billion for ICE, making it the single most funded federal law enforcement agency.In Los Angeles County, it’s estimated that more than a quarter of residents receive CalFresh benefits.A wave of federal cuts on April 1 eliminated CalFresh as...