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UPDATE: I found the letter! You guys were right - it was about adding my nephew. The letter says I'll get an additional $110 for May (prorated since he moved in on the 12th) and starting June my regular amount will increase by $178 monthly. The additional May amount should be on my EBT card by the 20th. Thanks everyone for the help!!
Wait, are we talking about school P-EBT or summer P-EBT? Because those are different, right? I've been expecting the summer one and wasn't aware of a new school year distribution. Can someone please explain the difference? My kids get free lunch at school already.
You're right that there are different P-EBT distributions. For the 2025 cycle: 1. School Year P-EBT: This covers days when children couldn't access school meals during the regular school year (currently being distributed) 2. Summer P-EBT: This is a separate benefit to help with food costs during summer break when school meals aren't available (typically distributed in June/July) Both are automatic if your children qualify for free/reduced meals. You don't need to apply separately. The current discussion is about the School Year P-EBT that's rolling out now through May.
Anyone know how much we're supposed to get per kid this time? Last year it was like $120 per kid per month for 5 months, but I heard they reduced it this year?
For the 2025 school year, P-EBT benefits are $130 per eligible child per month for qualifying months. Some counties may receive fewer months of benefits depending on how many qualifying school closure or virtual instruction days they had. The maximum benefit period is 5 months, so potentially up to $650 per child for the full benefit period. This is actually a slight increase from last year's rate.
My sister in Riverside County just told me her household got an extra $200 this month because of something called the "Family Stabilization Benefit" - has anyone else heard of this? She said it was because her income dropped recently. I'm in Sacramento County and haven't seen anything like that...
The Family Stabilization Benefit isn't a standard CalFresh program - it's actually part of CalWORKs (cash aid), not CalFresh. Your sister is likely receiving both programs and may have confused which program provided the additional funds. CalWORKs has several supplemental payments that CalFresh doesn't offer. You should check your eligibility for CalWORKs if your income has decreased significantly.
WHY do they make everything so confusing?? I've been on CalFresh for 3 years and I STILL don't understand half the notices they send. One month I get $375, the next it's $341, then back to $375 with ZERO explanation. Called FOUR TIMES last month and couldn't get past the automated system. It's like they WANT us to give up!!
The fluctuations might be due to the way your income is calculated month-to-month. If you're paid biweekly, some months have 5 weeks instead of 4, which can cause your benefit amount to change. Also, utility allowance adjustments happen seasonally. I agree they should explain changes better in the notices though.
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???
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.
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!
Joy Olmedo
wait is this different than calfresh? i get calfresh but didnt get any new card
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Atticus Domingo
•Yes, P-EBT is completely different from CalFresh. P-EBT 4.0 is specifically for families with children who qualified for free/reduced school meals during the 2022-2023 school year AND who had COVID-related absences during that period. It's separate from regular CalFresh benefits. If your children meet those criteria, they should be getting cards, but the rollout is happening in phases through June 2025.
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Elin Robinson
Update: I finally got through to someone at the P-EBT hotline! Apparently, our cards were mailed out last week and should arrive any day now. The rep said they're doing distribution based on the first letter of the child's last name within each county. My county is among the last batch. For anyone else still waiting, hang in there - they're definitely still sending them out.
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Beth Ford
•thx for update! hope mines coming soon too. did they tell u how much ur kids will get?
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