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$70 actually sounds high for that income level tbh. My husband makes about $3300 and we only get $42 for our family of 3 🙃 It's basically pointless but I keep it anyway because every bit helps I guess
This is why the system is so broken! The difference between $3300 and $3800 shouldn't be so drastic in benefits when we're all struggling. And these benefit amounts haven't kept up with inflation at ALL. $42-70 for a whole month is nothing with today's grocery prices.
Axel Bourke
After reading through the comments, it sounds like you have several action items: 1. Call your county worker to report your medical expenses (both yours and potentially your baby's) 2. Clarify how your boyfriend's overtime is being calculated 3. Make sure all your housing costs are properly documented 4. Continue with your WIC application for additional support When reporting medical expenses, bring documentation if possible. This includes receipts for: - Doctor visit copays - Prescription costs - Medical transportation expenses - Health insurance premiums you pay out of pocket - Medical equipment or supplies All of these can count toward your medical expense deduction if they exceed $35/month. With your HHT condition, I suspect your actual benefit could be considerably higher once everything is properly documented.
Nalani Liu
•Thank you for this clear list! I have receipts for almost everything, so I'll gather those up before I call. I'm feeling much more hopeful now that I might be able to get our benefits adjusted to something more helpful. I had no idea medical transportation counted too - I drive 45 minutes each way to see my specialist!
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Our elementary school sent home a flyer about this last week. The Jan-May 2023 P-EBT is scheduled for distribution in March-April 2025, and benefits will be loaded onto existing 3.0 cards. For anyone who lost their card, you can request a replacement at 877-328-9677. Just a heads up - the replacement takes 7-10 business days, so if you need a new card, request it now before the benefits are loaded. Hope this helps!
ThunderBolt7
•Your school actually sent home information?! That's amazing. Our district never communicates anything about P-EBT. Thanks for sharing this info - I still have our cards but this is good for anyone who needs replacements.
Mei Chen
wait so this is different from calfresh right? i get regular ebt but my kids still got pebt cards during covid. will they still get this benefit even tho our income went up and we dont get calfresh anymore?
Yes, P-EBT is completely separate from CalFresh. P-EBT eligibility is based on whether your children qualified for free or reduced-price school meals during the specific time period (in this case, January-May 2023). If your kids were eligible during that period, they'll receive the benefit regardless of your current income or CalFresh status. The eligibility was determined based on your situation in 2023, not now.
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UPDATE for everyone: I just checked with a colleague at the CalFresh office. The emergency allotments for April are indeed scheduled for the 17th for most counties. If you're in Sacramento County (as the OP mentioned), yours will definitely be tomorrow, not today. Also worth noting - this is likely one of the last few months for emergency allotments as the program is scheduled to phase out in August 2025. Make sure to report any income changes accurately on your SAR7 and recertification to maintain your regular benefits when that happens.
Maya Patel
•Wait WHAT?? The emergency allotments are ending in August?? That's going to cut my benefits by over $300! Is there anything we can do about this or is it definitely happening? With food prices still so high this is going to be devastating for my family.
Unfortunately it's a federal program sunset, so it will affect all states. The best preparation is to make sure your household has all eligible deductions properly reported (childcare expenses, excess medical costs for seniors/disabled, high housing costs). These can significantly increase your base benefit amount. Also consider applying for other programs like LIHEAP for utility assistance to free up more of your budget for food.
Just saw that my emergency allotment was deposited about 30 minutes ago (8:45pm on the 16th), though I'm in one of those early counties mentioned above. For most people, I'd expect to see it tomorrow. The system often loads benefits in batches throughout the day based on case numbers. One important tip - if your regular benefit amount changed after recertification, make sure that's properly reflected before the emergency allotment hits. If there was a calculation error on your regular benefit, it could affect your supplement amount too. Double-check your Notice of Action letter to confirm your regular benefit calculation looks correct.
Just checked again and still nothing for me. I'll wait until tomorrow as everyone suggested. My Notice of Action shows the $16 calculation based on our income, which seems right since we're just barely under the limit now. Thanks everyone for your help - I was really stressing out today!
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oh also they mite get rlly small benefits if they get SSI. my grandpa only got like $27 a month on EBT cuz his SSI was too high or somethin. still worth it tho
Diego Flores
•Quick correction - SSI (Supplemental Security Income) recipients in California aren't eligible for CalFresh at all because California includes a nutrition benefit in the SSI payment itself. However, if they're receiving Social Security retirement benefits (not SSI), then they can absolutely receive CalFresh. The minimum benefit for a qualifying household is $23 in 2025, but many seniors receive more, especially after medical expense deductions are applied.
Update: Thanks everyone for your help! We ended up going to BenefitsCal.com and started the application together. We got about halfway through but then realized we needed more documentation than we had on hand (they couldn't find their most recent Social Security award letters). Going to finish it tomorrow after gathering everything. The website was actually pretty user-friendly! I'm helping them navigate it, but the questions are straightforward. Much better than I expected. Will update again once we finish the process in case it helps others with elderly family members.
Good luck!! hope they get approved quick! let us know how the phone interview goes, thats the part my dad struggled with most
Mei Lin
this is why i HATE the calfresh system!!! they keep changing the rules and not telling anyone. first they give extra benefits then they take them away with NO NOTICE!!! how are we supposed to budget???
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Yuki Ito
•The emergency allotments actually ended with plenty of notice - counties sent letters to all recipients several months before the program ended in 2023. But I understand your frustration. Changes to benefits can be really disruptive, especially for those on fixed incomes.
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Mei Lin
•well i never got NO letter!!! and i bet the OP didnt either. typical government BS
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QuantumQuasar
Just to add one more thing - if you're seniors on fixed income and your IRT is N/A, you might want to check if you qualify for simplified reporting. Some seniors only need to report changes once a year instead of submitting the SAR7 every six months. Makes the paperwork burden much lighter!
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Ethan Taylor
•We actually do have simplified reporting! That's been such a blessing. We only have to do the annual recertification paperwork. I just wish they'd make the whole system easier to understand.
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