California’s Medi-Cal program is paying to have salmon, beef, organic produce and prepared meals delivered free to qualifying recipients’ homes — including, in some cases, immigrants living in the state illegally. The benefit is part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s nearly $12 billion Medicaid overhaul known as CalAIM, signed into law in 2021.
The claims come from an opinion piece published by the New York Post, written by Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and researcher Madeleine Rowley.
CalAIM redirects Medicaid money toward a range of social services, including transitional rent assistance and housing deposits. Newsom has described the overhaul as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to completely transform the Medicaid system in California.” Among its offerings, the most widely used is “medically tailored meals,” a Community Support benefit that sends prepared meals or targeted grocery items to eligible Medi-Cal recipients.
To qualify, a person needs a valid Medi-Cal card, a recommendation from a health provider, and a qualifying medical condition. Andrew Barrier, a former executive at a California medically tailored food contractor, described the enrollment process as deliberately accessible in a 2024 presentation to a Los Angeles nonprofit. “They’re not looking to push people away from the program, they’re really looking for people to be on it,” he said.
Once enrolled, recipients can receive deliveries for up to 12 weeks before needing to re-enroll. According to the Post piece, the cost to taxpayers for a single recipient across 24 weeks — covering both food and delivery — exceeds $1,500.
TikTok Video Shows a Delivery
One Californian who goes by “Lupita” on TikTok posted a video earlier this year unboxing a free grocery delivery, which included carrots, broccoli, apples, oranges, celery, rice and lettuce. “Yesterday, I was like, ‘I need some lettuce,’ but the lettuce was like $5,” she said in the video. “And look at this. Fresh lettuce! Thank you, God.”
The Policy Behind the Benefit
The meal and grocery deliveries draw on the “Food Is Medicine” movement, whose advocates argue that providing healthy food to patients can cut down on hospitalizations and ultimately save money for the health system. A Massachusetts study released this year found that medically tailored meals were linked to roughly 31 percent fewer hospitalizations. In September, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously to create a pilot program paying hospitals to provide medically tailored meals to patients after discharge.
California’s Department of Health Care Services told the Post the programs have produced a “10.5% net cost reduction,” though it did not respond to a request for comment on other aspects of the story.
Contractors and Costs
Several California-based companies have billed Medicaid substantial sums for these services. Between 2022 and 2024, providers nationwide billed Medicaid nearly $100 million under code S9977, which covers medically tailored meals. Project FoodBox, the company Barrier previously worked for, was the largest biller in that period, receiving more than $67.8 million from Medicaid; it has since opened a location in the Bronx. Another firm, California-based Hunger: Not Impossible — now operating as Bento Health — billed Medicaid more than $7.7 million. Bento Health did not respond to a request for comment from the Post.
Eligibility and Immigration Status
Bento Health’s website states that eligibility for its services “is not tied to immigration status, employment status, nationality, or any other factor other than your insurance provider’s eligibility criteria.” In 2024, California extended “full-scope” Medi-Cal coverage to immigrants without legal status. The state has since frozen new enrollment under that expansion but allows those already enrolled to keep their coverage. Medi-Cal’s rules for these enrollees are set to change next year, but until then, those with full-scope coverage can access CalAIM’s Community Supports, including the medically tailored meals program.
Thirteen states currently use federal waivers to fund medically tailored food programs, according to the Post piece, which noted that the benefit is expanding even as many middle-class California families report difficulty affording groceries.
