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Fresh Success Provider Application

Funding Opportunity to Enhance Employment and Training Programs

Thank you for your interest in joining the Fresh Success program and to all applicants for your submissions. The application cycle opens twice a year, and this webpage will be updated prior to each opening.

Application Open: April 20, 2026
Application Close: May 29, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT
Opportunity Type: Funding via Partial Federal Reimbursement

Overview

California community colleges, nonprofit organizations, K-12 adult schools, and other government entities may be eligible to participate in Fresh Success, a CalFresh Employment and Training (E&T) program. Fresh Success allows campuses and organizations to receive a 45 percent federal reimbursement for employment and training activities provided to CalFresh recipients. Federal reimbursement funding can help expand and enhance existing services, improve food security, and support participants on their paths to self-sufficiency. CalFresh E&T can also help fund supportive services such as transportation, textbooks and course supplies, testing fees, dependent care, and more. 

The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FoundationCCC) acts as a statewide intermediary on behalf of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to help eligible organizations access CalFresh E&T funding through Fresh Success. As part of this role, Fresh Success supports providers in implementing and sustaining their CalFresh E&T programs through the following services:

  • Onboarding training and ongoing technical assistance
  • Tools, handbooks, and planning templates
  • Direct contracting with providers and support in developing budgets
  • Assistance in developing E&T Plans and securing approvals
  • Facilitation of partnerships and data-sharing agreements with county CalFresh agencies

Goals

FoundationCCC is seeking organizations that can provide high-quality employment and training services for CalFresh participants. These services should support participants achieve the following goals:

Increase skills attainment and credentialing

Improve employability by removing barriers

Support job placement, retention, and wages

Eligibility

Your organization may be eligible if it meets the following criteria: 

  • Is a California community college, K-12 adult school, other government entity, or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 
  • Provides employment and training services such as employment assessments, case management, educational programs, work readiness training, apprenticeships, job placement, and supportive services  
  • Uses non-federal funding to provide those services to low-income individuals receiving CalFresh (food stamp) benefits  
  • Operates in a Fresh Success partner county and meets their partnership criteria

How to Apply

  1. Review the Fresh Success Application Information document and additional resources (linked below) before applying. 
  2. Submit a Fresh Success Provider Application by May 29, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PT.
    • Questions about the application may be emailed to [email protected] no later than May 4, 2026.
    • Please use “Fresh Success Application Q&A” in the subject line for all application-related questions.   
  3. FoundationCCC will invite selected organizations to participate in the next onboarding cohort. 
  4. Additional approvals and contract execution will be required before an organization becomes eligible to draw down federal reimbursement as a Fresh Success provider.
Apply Here

Important Deadlines

Application opensApril 20, 2026
Last date to email questionsMay 4, 2026
Responses to questions published byMay 8, 2026
Applications due May 29, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT
Invitations to participate in cohort announcedJune 15, 2026
Cohort onboarding, approval process, and contractingJuly-December 2026
Anticipated program start dateSpring 2027

*Please be advised that key dates and deadlines are subject to change and will be updated on this page as adjustments are made.

Resources

Application Questions and Responses

Question #1: Program Services: Case Management: For some of the case management examples, it includes individualized service plans. Is this specific to Fresh Success and how we would support a student to come up with their Fresh Success plan as it overlaps with other areas – i.e. after the intake assessment, the service plan would help identify what Basic Needs/Fresh Success services would best support the student? 
Response #1: There is no need to create a new individualized service plan if you already capture students’ needs and career goals through an existing intake assessment, Student Education Plans, or other existing tools. The individualized service plan is an optional case management tool and is not required.

Question #2: Program Services: Employment & Training: There is a full list of E&T components, but I imagine that we could freely partner with our Career Center to help add these as part of Basic Needs/Fresh Success – as an example? 
Response #2:  Yes. Partnering with your college’s Career Center or other campus programs is an appropriate way to deliver Fresh Success services. Many E&T components can be fulfilled through existing college services, provided that:
1. The activity aligns with an approved E&T component, and 
2. Student participation is tracked and documented for E&T purposes. 
Programs are not required to create new services if existing offerings meet E&T component requirements. For examples of the E&T components typically offered through colleges, please watch the Fresh Success Deep Dive Webinar: For Community Colleges and Adult Schools.

Question #3: Work-Based Learning: Subsidized wage: This simply just means we plan to pay the student for the work they are doing – i.e., student employment? 
Response #3: Subsidized wages are wages paid to participants in an approved work-based learning activity (e.g., internships or apprenticeships). These wages may be eligible for partial reimbursement if:
1. The activity meets subsidized work-based learning component requirements, and
2. Wages are paid with non-federal funds (federal work-study is not allowable). 
Additional detail is available in the SNAP E&T Component Overview. 

Question #4: While answering the questions and selecting the counties we would like to serve Fresh Success participants, I noticed that Madera County is not an option. I did review the Fresh Success County partnerships list for more information, and it shows it as active under “All provider types (non-profit CBOs, community colleges, and adult schools”. Could you please let me know if there is an error on the partnership list or the fresh success application?
Response #4: Thank you for bringing this error to our attention. The Fresh Success provider application form has been updated to include Madera County.