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be carful when u go 2 the county offce, they might try 2 say u commited fraud yourself. my neighbor had her benafits stolenn and they acused her of selling her card. bring as much proof as u can that u had ur card the whole time!
While it's good to bring documentation, this type of accusation is actually quite rare with skimming cases. The counties are well aware of the widespread EBT theft problem. As long as you promptly report the theft and have your physical card with you, there's little reason they would accuse you of fraud. The electronic signatures from skimming look very different from legitimate card sales in their system.
Has anyone tried the new CalFresh Watchdog app? My worker told me about it when I was reporting my theft. Supposedly it sends you instant alerts whenever your EBT card is used so you know right away if there's fraud happening. I haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking about it after all this skimming stuff.
The official app is called "EBT Alert" (not CalFresh Watchdog) and it's a legitimate service offered through the state. It sends real-time transaction alerts and allows you to temporarily freeze/unfreeze your card. However, it's currently only available in 28 counties in California as of March 2025. I recommend using it if it's available in your county, but also check if your specific county has additional fraud prevention tools they offer locally.
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Thanks everyone for clearing this up. I feel kinda dumb now for believing my neighbor, but she was so convincing! I'll definitely look into getting my benefits recalculated with my current expenses. Really appreciate all the help and information.
Don't feel bad! CalFresh rules are complicated and there's a lot of misinformation out there. Focus on getting all your current expenses documented at your next SAR7 or recertification. That's your best path to maximizing your regular benefits now that the emergency allotments are gone.
My cousin works for the county and said they get calls about this ALL THE TIME still. People are really struggling without those extra benefits. I remember getting almost double my regular amount during COVID. Now food prices are even higher but we're back to the old benefit levels. It's rough out there.
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dont forget the extra payment wont count toward your income limit or IRT! my cousin panicked thinking she had to report it on her SAR7 but its a one-time benefit so it doesnt count as income
Oh that's good to know! My SAR7 is due next month and I was wondering about that too. So I don't need to include this on the income section at all? That's a relief.
Correct, one-time assistance payments like this Grocery Inflation Relief supplement don't count as income for CalFresh eligibility or reporting purposes. You don't need to report it on your SAR7 or at recertification. The same applies to tax refunds, economic impact payments, and other one-time government assistance payments. Regular income from jobs, unemployment, disability, etc. still needs to be reported as usual if it exceeds your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT).
Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I checked my EBT account this morning (June 18th) and the extra $250 was loaded! The transaction shows as "CA INFLATION RELIEF PYMT" just like someone mentioned. This will help so much with my grocery budget this month. Really appreciate all the clarification about when to expect it and how it works!
lucky you!!! mine still isnt there and my case # ends in 72 so i guess i gotta wait till tomorrow 😭
glad u got it!!! use it quick before prices go up again lol 🤣
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To clarify what everyone is saying: The CalFresh 3.0 emergency allotment was a specialized program that provided two supplemental payments in March and April 2025. This is different from the pandemic emergency allotments that ran monthly from 2020-2022. If your benefits aren't sufficient, here are some actionable steps: 1. Report any increase in expenses (rent, utilities, childcare, medical) immediately using a SAR 7 or by contacting your county office 2. Make sure all eligible household members are included in your case 3. Verify all deductions are being properly applied (many households don't receive all deductions they qualify for) 4. Check if you qualify for expedited services if your situation becomes more severe The income reporting threshold (IRT) for CalFresh is now 150% of your household's gross monthly income limit. Be sure to report any income changes over this threshold within 10 days.
This is incredibly helpful - thank you! I didn't realize I could report expense increases outside of recertification. I'm going to gather my new rent agreement and childcare receipts and submit them this week. Do you happen to know what the current gross monthly income limit is for a family of 4? Just want to make sure we're still eligible with my husband's recent raise.
For a household of 4 in 2025, the gross monthly income limit for CalFresh is approximately $3,950. Your IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) would be 150% of that figure, so around $5,925. As long as your household's total gross monthly income stays below the income limit, you should remain eligible, though the benefit amount may adjust based on the exact income. When reporting your husband's raise, make sure to provide documentation like a pay stub or employer letter to verify the new income amount.
btw does anyone know if the emergency allotments count towards the resource limit test for medi-cal? i got both payments but am worried about my medi-cal redetermination coming up
Great question - CalFresh benefits (including emergency allotments) do NOT count as income or resources for Medi-Cal eligibility. The emergency allotments were considered the same type of benefit as regular CalFresh, just supplemental. You don't need to report them as income for your Medi-Cal redetermination.
Aisha Hussain
I had the same worry but got my kids' cards last week! Don't stress too much about it. The P-EBT rollout has been a mess since they started it during COVID. Different counties are on different schedules, and even within counties it seems random. As long as your kids were on CalFresh during the eligible months and are under 6, you'll get it eventually. The system is just SLOW.
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Nia Wilson
•SO SLOW!! And heaven forbid you have a question or problem - impossible to reach anyone who can actually help!!
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Mateo Martinez
the amounts on the cards are different based on how many months ur kid was eligible btw. my 4yo got $1240 but my 1yo only got $630 cuz we added her to our case later
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Sean Flanagan
•That's interesting and makes sense. My kids have been on our case the whole time so hopefully they'll get the full amount when the cards finally arrive.
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