As someone who works with families navigating benefits, I want to emphasize a few key points from this great discussion: 1. **Summer EBT is PERMANENT** - This isn't a temporary COVID program, it's here to stay! California will continue offering this every summer. 2. **Address updates are CRITICAL** - Even if you updated your address for CalFresh, you may need to update it separately for Summer EBT with your county office. 3. **Timing varies by county** - Some counties started sending cards in late spring, others are still processing. Don't panic if you haven't received yours yet. 4. **Look for plain envelopes** - As others mentioned, these don't always look like official benefit mail and can easily be mistaken for junk mail. For anyone still waiting: Call your county CalFresh office, verify your address, and ask specifically about "Summer EBT" or "Summer Food Benefits." If your kids get free/reduced school meals OR you're on CalFresh, you should be automatically eligible. The program provides $120 per eligible child for summer food costs - it's worth the phone call to make sure you don't miss out!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm a working parent with 3 kids who get free lunch, and I've been on CalFresh for about 6 months now. Like so many others here, I had absolutely no idea about Summer EBT - I honestly thought all the extra food programs ended with COVID. After reading through everyone's experiences, I'm realizing I probably missed notifications because we moved twice in the past year and I may not have updated our address with every department. It's frustrating that these programs aren't communicated better - how many eligible families are missing out just because they don't know these benefits exist? I'm definitely calling tomorrow to check our address and Summer EBT status. The tip about each child getting their own $120 card in separate plain envelopes is super helpful - I probably would have thrown those away thinking they were junk mail too! Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and making this so much clearer. This community is honestly more helpful than any official resource I've found. Fingers crossed we can still get enrolled for this summer!

I'm so sorry you're going through this stress! This happened to my sister last year - the website lag is real and frustrating. Since you've already uploaded your paystubs to BenefitsCal, make sure you also check your "Messages" section in the portal to see if there are any pending requests you might have missed. Sometimes they show up there even if the physical mail got lost. Also, when you call Tuesday, have your case number ready and ask specifically about "good cause" for late verification - if you truly never received the original request, that could help your case. The fact that you uploaded everything as soon as you found out shows good faith effort. Don't give up hope - I've seen people get their benefits restored within a few days once they get through to the right person!

Don't beat yourself up about missing the message in the portal - that Messages section is really easy to overlook and the system doesn't send email notifications when new requests are posted there. The important thing is that you found it now and took action immediately. When you call Tuesday, definitely mention that the message was buried in the portal without any email alert, as this shows the communication breakdown wasn't entirely on your end. Also, since you found the original request was from 6 weeks ago, you'll want to provide pay stubs covering that entire period up to now to show your income situation. Keep all your screenshots and documentation ready - having everything organized will help speed up the restoration process. You're being a great advocate for your family by staying on top of this! 💪

This whole situation is so relatable! I'm dealing with something similar right now - my EBT card got automatically frozen last week due to "suspicious activity" (which was just me buying groceries at a different store than usual), and now I can't get back into the website to unfreeze it. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful though. I had no idea about the separate EBT customer service line (1-877-328-9677) or that you could freeze/unfreeze by phone without needing the website at all! I've been banging my head against the wall trying to get the EBT Edge site to work when apparently there's a much easier way. I'm definitely going to try calling that number first thing Monday morning and specifically asking for an "EBT Edge account reset and unfreeze" like Jamal suggested. It's frustrating that this information isn't more widely available - I spent hours googling solutions and never found any of these workarounds. Thank goodness for this community sharing real solutions that actually work!

This whole thread is so valuable! I'm a CalFresh recipient who's been having similar issues with the EBT Edge website, and I had no idea about most of these workarounds. The fact that you can freeze/unfreeze your card by calling 1-877-328-9677 instead of dealing with that buggy website is a game-changer - I wish they made this more obvious! I've been avoiding using the freeze feature because I was scared of getting locked out like this, but now I feel more confident knowing there's a phone backup option. The tip about calling early in the morning and asking specifically for an "EBT Edge account reset and unfreeze" is going in my notes for future reference. It's really unfortunate that we have to crowd-source solutions like this because the official resources are so lacking, but I'm grateful this community exists to help each other navigate these frustrating system issues. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm new to CalFresh and just got my card last week. I was so embarrassed at the grocery store because I kept trying to insert it like a chip card and the cashier had to show me how to swipe it. I wish they would put some kind of label or instruction on the card itself explaining this - it would save everyone so much confusion. The silver square really does look exactly like a working chip!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I just started receiving CalFresh benefits last month and have been making the same mistake. I actually asked the customer service desk at my local grocery store if my card was defective because the "chip" wouldn't work. They explained it to me but I thought it was just my specific card that was broken. Now I know it's a design issue that affects everyone. It's honestly pretty frustrating that they make it look identical to a working chip when it serves a completely different purpose. At least now I know to always swipe and won't feel confused anymore when I'm at checkout!

After reading through this entire thread, I want to emphasize something important: If you believe your personal information has been compromised across multiple benefits programs (CalFresh, LifeLine, etc.), you should also consider placing a freeze on your credit reports with the major credit bureaus. Identity thieves who target government benefits often attempt to use the same personal information for other types of fraud. A credit freeze provides an extra layer of protection against identity theft beyond your benefits. Regarding the timing of benefit replacement - under California regulations, counties should process EBT theft claims within 10 days of receiving all required documentation. If your claim has been pending longer than this, escalation to a supervisor is appropriate.

I've been following this thread closely and want to share some additional resources that might help everyone dealing with EBT theft. First, there's actually a dedicated California EBT fraud reporting website at ebtfraud.ca.gov where you can report suspicious store activities like photographing cards. This goes directly to the state's investigation unit. Second, for those struggling with long wait times for benefit replacement - you may be eligible for emergency food assistance through your county while your theft claim is being processed. Ask specifically about "expedited replacement benefits" when you call. Regarding the government phone connection - while there's no proven direct link, I've noticed that scammers often use data from breaches of companies that serve low-income populations to target multiple benefit programs simultaneously. So it's possible that's what's happening here rather than the phones themselves being compromised. Most importantly - NEVER let ANY store employee take your card out of your sight or photograph it. That's not legitimate anywhere and is a huge red flag for card skimming operations. Stay vigilant everyone, and don't give up on getting your stolen benefits replaced. You're entitled to them!