CDSS Programs CalFresh Outreach Request For Application

Contractor Inquiries

Thank you for your interest in a partnership with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) CalFresh Outreach. The objective of these partnerships is to increase California’s CalFresh participation rate by assisting potentially eligible Californians to apply for CalFresh and to maintain their CalFresh Food benefits for as long as they are eligible.

To streamline the administration of the CalFresh Outreach program and increase our programmatic support of our CalFresh Outreach network, the CalFresh and Nutrition Branch’s CalFresh Outreach Unit will not be releasing a Request for Application (RFA) to solicit competitive bids for additional CalFresh Outreach prime contractors for the three-year planning cycle for FFY 2025 to FFY 2027. 

Current prime contractors are: 

  • 2‑1-1 San Diego
  • The California Association of Food Banks
  • Catholic Charities of California
  • California State University, Chico – Center for Healthy Communities
  • Code for America
  • The Redwood Community Health Coalition
  • The California Department of Aging

If your organization is interested in a partnership with one these organizations, please visit our contractors by county page, which is also located on the CDSS CalFresh Outreach website. In determining which prime contractor to partner with, it’s helpful to consider which of these efforts most closely align with your organization. Each prime contractor has a focus area or key targeted population for their outreach efforts, and have a broad, multi-county or statewide reach with their services. Some of the focus areas include, but are not limited to, faith-based organizations, healthcare providers, food banks, Native American or tribal entities, higher education institutions, and organizations serving older adults or people with disabilities. Please keep in mind that each prime contractor is beholden to the terms of their contracted Scope of Work with CDSS and may not have bandwidth for additional partnerships at this time. That determination is up to the individual prime contractors to decide.

For additional questions or for more information, please contact the CalFresh Access Inbox at CalFreshAccess@dss.ca.gov .