One more thing - make sure you're aware of your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT). It should be listed on your approval notice. If your income ever goes above that amount, you have to report it within 10 days, even before your SAR7 is due. A lot of people miss this and end up with overpayments.

The IRT isn't a form - it's a specific income amount that's calculated for your household. If your monthly income ever exceeds that amount, you must report it within 10 days, even if it's not time for your SAR7 yet. It should be clearly stated on your approval notice, usually in bold or highlighted. For a household of 2 in 2025, it's typically around 130% of the Federal Poverty Level, which would be approximately $2,450/month. But your specific IRT might be different based on your situation.

walmart has those cookie cakes with frosting that look fancier than regular cakes my kids love them and there only like $12 with ebt

idk if this helps but my sister makes ice cream cakes at home!! just buy ice cream with ebt, let it soften, put in cake pan, refreeze, then decorate. cheaper than BR too

btw your neighbor was probably talking about the CalWORKs payment schedule, not CalFresh. those payments did get moved around this month because of the system update. easy to confuse all these different benefit types lol

Since your issue is a late SAR7 form, here's what you need to do immediately: 1) Complete and submit your SAR7 through BenefitsCal today 2) Call the county office to notify them you've submitted it late 3) Request 'restoration of lost benefits' since you weren't properly notified about the form being due. When you submit the SAR7, make sure to include all household income for the report month, any changes in household composition, and all required verification documents. The county has to process an SAR7 received within 30 days of the due date, even if it's late.

Glad ur seeing it now!! make sure u fill out ALL the sections even if nothing changed for u. i messed up by skipping sections i thought didn't apply to me and my renewal got delayed for like 3 weeks!! so annoying

That's great news that you found the renewal option! One final tip: After you submit your recertification, take a screenshot or print the confirmation page. Also, check your BenefitsCal account daily for the next week or so - if the county needs additional verification documents, they'll post a request in your account. Missing these requests is one of the most common reasons for renewal delays or benefit discontinuance. Good luck with your recertification!

I heard from my cousin in sacramento that they're gunna do somthing for the summer months only bc of kids being home from school needing more food. not sure if its true tho

UPDATE: I finally got through to a CalFresh worker this morning (after trying different times of day). They confirmed there are NO plans for emergency allotments in California for 2025. However, the worker was very helpful about the Medical Nutrition Deduction! She sent me the CF 31 form and explained exactly what documentation I need. Apparently, I can claim the price difference between regular foods and gluten-free alternatives as a medical expense. She did say I need to track these expenses for at least a month before submitting the form. Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!

does anyone know if we get less benefits if we have money in savings? i deposited my tax refund last month (about $1200) and now im worried that made my benefits go down

UPDATE: I finally got through to my county office this morning! Turns out there were TWO problems: 1. They miscalculated my income based on that one week I worked extra hours (they thought that was my regular pay) 2. Somehow my utility deduction got removed during my SAR7 processing The worker fixed both issues and said I should get the correct amount (plus back benefits for this month) within 10 days. She also updated my case notes to prevent this from happening again. For anyone else with suddenly lower benefits, definitely call and speak to a real person! The worker told me several people have had similar issues this month because of changes to their processing system.

I went through the EXACT same confusion! Called the P-EBT number 17 TIMES over three days!!! Finally got someone who told me they're only loading quarterly but couldn't even tell me WHEN the next quarter payment would be! The whole system is designed to make it impossible to get help. And the website is completely useless - just shows balance but nothing about future payments or if you're even still eligible. Why can't they just send a simple letter explaining when payments will come???

Just to clarify one additional point that might be causing confusion - P-EBT 3.0 is separate from CalFresh, even though both use EBT cards. If you receive regular CalFresh benefits, those will continue to be deposited monthly according to your regular schedule. The P-EBT benefits for school children are on the quarterly schedule I mentioned earlier. If you're having trouble reaching someone, you might try contacting your local school district's nutrition services department rather than the state P-EBT hotline. They often have more direct information about which students are enrolled in the program.

btw while ur on the phone with ebt customer service ask them if ur balance is what u think it is sometimes the problems not the pin but that u already spent some and forgot not saying thats what happened but just double check

Not to get off topic but why do they always reset the CalFresh benefits on different days? Mine come on the 7th but my sister gets hers on the 14th. Makes no sense!

have u checked food banks in ur area? my church runs one every satruday and another on wednesday nights. helps ALOT when the ebt runs low b4 the month ends

also tell ur sister to report ANY changze in expenses like if rent went up or if she pays childcare!!! those can help get more benefits sometimes!!

UPDATE??? Did u get thru to the county??? plz let us know what happened!!!

Just got off the phone with them! Used that Claimyr service someone suggested and got through in about 20 minutes instead of hours. Filed the claim and they said because the transactions were so obviously fraudulent (NY while I'm in CA), I should hear back within 10-15 business days. Fingers crossed! Also filled out the police report online and got a confirmation number to add to my claim.