I work at a local community center that helps families navigate benefit programs, and I see this situation pretty regularly. A few things that might help while you're dealing with the replacement: 1. Some grocery stores will let you do a "manual voucher" transaction if you can provide proof that you have P-EBT benefits but lost the card. You'd need documentation showing the benefits were issued to your child. Not all stores do this, but it's worth asking at customer service. 2. If your son's dad is willing to help with the call, sometimes having the custodial parent information ready speeds things up - they may ask about custody arrangements or who's authorized to make changes to the account. 3. For future reference, many parents don't realize you can actually request a second card for the same account (like having one for each household in shared custody situations). Might be worth asking about when you call for the replacement. The 877 number is definitely right, and definitely emphasize that it's P-EBT 3.0 when you call. Good luck - I hope you get through quickly and your son gets his food assistance restored soon!

I just went through this exact same situation two months ago with my daughter's P-EBT 3.0 card! Here's what worked for me: Definitely call 877-328-9677 (that number is correct), but try calling right at 8am when they open - I got through in about 20 minutes versus the 2+ hour waits later in the day. Have everything ready: your son's full name exactly as it appears on school records, DOB, school name, and your current address. One thing that really helped speed up my call - I found the original P-EBT welcome letter in my files which had some reference numbers on it. Not required, but the rep said it made the process much faster. For this weekend, call your son's school Monday morning to ask about their weekend food backpack program if they have one. Also, some grocery stores will do manual voucher transactions if you can show proof of the P-EBT benefits (like old statements or the welcome letter). My replacement card came in exactly 7 business days, and they immediately canceled the old card when I called so no one could use it if they found it. Make sure to ask them to confirm the cancellation! Hang in there - I know how stressful this is when you're counting on those benefits. You'll get through this!

I'm so glad to see how this conversation evolved from the original Denny's question to all these amazing homemade breakfast ideas! As someone who's been using CalFresh benefits for over a year, I can't emphasize enough how much further your benefits go when you shop smart at grocery stores versus trying to use them at restaurants (even when that's possible). One tip I haven't seen mentioned yet - if you have an Aldi near you, they often have incredibly affordable breakfast items that are EBT eligible. Their pancake mix is usually under $1, and they frequently have seasonal items like flavored syrups or breakfast meats on special. Also, many WinCo stores have bulk bins where you can buy exactly the amount you need of things like chocolate chips or nuts for toppings, which helps avoid waste and saves money. The homemade "restaurant experience" idea is genius - you could even make little menus with your kids and let them "order" their pancake combinations! They'll have such a blast being involved in the whole process, and you'll create memories that last way longer than any restaurant visit. Plus, no worries about tips or eligibility restrictions - just pure family fun!

This whole thread has been so heartwarming to read! As a parent who's also navigated the CalFresh system, I completely understand that desire to treat your kids to something special. What I love about all these homemade breakfast suggestions is that you're not just saving money - you're creating an experience that's probably going to be way more meaningful than any restaurant visit. One thing I'd add is that if you want to make it feel even more like a "restaurant outing," you could set up a special breakfast table with your nicest dishes, maybe some flowers from the yard, or even make paper placemats that your kids can color while you're cooking. I've done this with my own children and they absolutely loved the "fancy" feeling of it all. Also, for future reference about the Restaurant Meals Program - even though it doesn't help your current situation, it's worth keeping in mind that eligibility can change. If your circumstances ever change (like if you become homeless or develop a disability), you could potentially qualify later. But honestly, after reading all these creative homemade breakfast ideas, I think you're going to have way more fun at home anyway!

I'm in almost the exact same boat - applied in October, approved in November, got my current benefits right away but had to wait nearly a month for the retroactive payments to show up. What finally worked for me was calling that EBT customer service line (1-877-328-9677) that someone mentioned earlier. They were able to confirm my backdated benefits were "pending processing" which gave me peace of mind while I waited. The county office phone system is absolutely brutal, but EBT customer service picked up in like 2 minutes and could see everything about my account including pending deposits. Your situation with the pending issuance showing in BenefitsCal is actually a really good sign - mine looked the same for about 10 days before the money finally hit my card. I know the waiting is stressful when you're counting on that money for groceries, but based on what I've seen here and my own experience, those retroactive benefits are almost certainly coming your way!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! Applied in late November, got approved in early January, and just received my current month benefits yesterday but nothing for the previous months yet. This entire thread has been such a goldmine of information - I had no idea about checking BenefitsCal for pending issuances or that the EBT customer service line could give you details about pending deposits. It's honestly ridiculous that we have to piece together this information from community forums because the official process is so unclear. I'm going to try calling 1-877-328-9677 tomorrow to see if they can confirm my retroactive benefits are processing. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like waiting 2-3 weeks for backdated benefits is totally normal, even though it's incredibly stressful when you're already struggling financially. Thanks for posting this question - you've helped so many of us understand that we're not alone in this confusing process!

This is such a widespread issue that affects so many night shift workers! I'm a warehouse worker (11pm-7am shift) and ran into this exact same problem when I first started working nights about 6 months ago. What I learned through trial and error is that you really need to be super specific when calling EBT customer service. Don't just ask them to "remove the block" - you need to ask them to check for AND remove ALL of these specific restrictions: 1) Time-of-day restrictions (11pm-6am), 2) Unusual activity fraud monitoring during overnight hours, 3) Transaction velocity limits, 4) Geographic fraud prevention restrictions, and 5) Any "suspicious activity" flags that might be triggering during benefit loading times. Also, I found it helps to explain your work schedule and make it clear this is a regular pattern for you, not unusual activity. The key is getting someone who actually understands their system - regular customer service reps often don't have access to all these settings. Ask for a supervisor immediately and don't accept "I removed the restriction" without them being specific about WHICH restrictions they removed. It took me 3 calls but once I got the right person who understood all the different security layers, I haven't had a problem since. Good luck!

I'm a night shift EMT and have been dealing with this exact same problem for months! After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I'm realizing I need to be way more specific when I call back. I've only called once and they told me they "removed the after-hours restriction," but clearly that wasn't enough based on everyone's experiences here. What's really frustrating is that I work 7pm-7am shifts and the only time I can shop is literally right after work around 7:30am, but my card gets declined every single time. I thought maybe it was because I was shopping too early in the morning, but now I understand there are all these different security layers that could be causing the problem. I'm going to call back and ask specifically about time restrictions, fraud monitoring, velocity limits, AND geographic restrictions like everyone mentioned. Thank you all for sharing your solutions - this thread has been way more helpful than any official customer service I've received!

This whole thread has been so helpful! I'm planning my nephew's graduation party and was literally about to make the same mistake with those Costco platters. The DIY sandwich bar idea is genius - not only is it EBT eligible, but it sounds like it'll be way more interactive and fun for the party. I love how everyone can build their own perfect sandwich. Quick question for those who've done this - do you set up all the ingredients buffet-style or do you pre-assemble some sandwiches and let people customize others? Also, does anyone know if those big bags of chips from Costco's snack aisle work well for parties? Trying to plan out my whole shopping list now that I know the rules better. Thanks everyone for sharing your real experiences!

As someone who's been on CalFresh for a while, I can confirm what others have said about the prepared food restrictions being really strict. I learned this lesson the hard way with a birthday cake from the grocery store bakery - even though it was just cake, it was considered "prepared" so my EBT was declined. The DIY sandwich bar idea that everyone's suggesting is honestly the best approach. I've done this for several family events and it always works out great. Here's what I typically get from Costco with my EBT benefits: - Those big sandwich rolls (usually 8-12 pack for under $5) - Bulk deli meat (turkey, ham, whatever's on sale) - Large blocks of cheese that you can slice yourself - Condiments, lettuce, tomatoes - Big bags of chips and drinks The total usually comes to way less than what a prepared platter would cost, and you get much more food. Plus people actually prefer it because they can make their sandwiches exactly how they like them. My kids always volunteer to help set it up, which makes it feel more like a family activity than just party prep. One tip: if you're worried about the work involved, you can do most of the prep the night before - slice the cheese, wash the veggies, set up the condiments. Then day-of is just putting everything out on the table!