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Does anyone know if we qualify for PEBT if we get CALFRESH already???????? My kids school says they get free lunch becuz of some comunity thing not becuz of our income so im confused if they get the PEBT too??
Yes, you can qualify for both CalFresh and P-EBT - they're separate programs. If your children's school participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) where all students get free meals regardless of income, then your children should automatically qualify for P-EBT benefits! That's actually good news because you don't have to submit any additional paperwork. The school should have already submitted the necessary information to the state.
Something to keep in mind is that the P-EBT program's existence depends on federal funding and approvals. The current program was authorized through the end of the 2025-26 school year, but there's always the possibility of changes. What I've found helpful is signing up for email/text alerts from the California Department of Social Services website so you get notified about these benefits directly rather than relying on schools (which often have outdated or incomplete information).
That's a really good idea about signing up for alerts directly. Do you happen to have the link for that? I've looked around the CDSS website before and got lost in all the different pages.
Here you go: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/cdss-programs/calworks/subscriber. This page lets you sign up for alerts about various programs including P-EBT. Just make sure you check the boxes for all the programs you want updates about. Hope this helps!
Dont forget you gotta spend the p-ebt within like a year i think or the benefits expire!!! My sister lost like $300 cuz she didnt know and just set the card aside
Just to clarify a common confusion - P-EBT benefits don't expire after a year of issuance like some think. It's 274 days of inactivity that triggers expiration. So as long as you use the card at least once every 9 months, your benefits will remain. And since your child was born in 2021, they'll qualify for the full school-year amount if they're in a qualifying program now. The P-EBT amount for 2025 was increased to $140/month from the previous $123/month to account for inflation in food costs.
Good news! I just checked my EBT balance and my benefits finally loaded tonight - about 12 hours late. Maybe check yours again? There might have been a system-wide delay affecting multiple accounts today.
OMG just checked and mine loaded too!! Thank you all so much for your help and suggestions. What a relief! I was literally in tears thinking about tomorrow. Now I can go grocery shopping first thing in the morning. I'm still going to try calling them to find out what happened so I don't panic next time.
I thought P-EBT was only during the pandemic?????? Why are people still getting it in 2025???? My kids school says they all get free lunch anyway so what is this even for????
The original P-EBT was pandemic-related, but California extended a modified version of the program. The current P-EBT benefits cover days when eligible students couldn't access school meals due to excused COVID-related absences, remote learning days, or school closures. Even though many schools offer universal free meals now, P-EBT helps replace those meals on days when students couldn't physically be at school to receive them.
Are these P-EBT benefits supposed to come on our regular CalFresh EBT card? Or is it separate? I just realized I should check if I'm looking in the right place.
Sophia Nguyen
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.
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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.
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Sophia Nguyen
•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.
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Aiden Rodríguez
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.
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Emily Jackson
•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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