Good for you for not giving up! Too many people would have just reapplied and lost those months of benefits. Did they mention anything about expedited service? Since he's elderly with low income he might qualify to get the benefits within 3 days instead of waiting.

This is a great outcome! Just a tip for the future - make sure your uncle keeps all his medical receipts throughout the year. When it's time for recertification (which will be in 36 months since he's on ESAP), having those medical expenses documented can significantly increase his benefit amount. The deduction threshold changes, but generally if he spends more than $35/month on medical costs, he can get a higher deduction which leads to more CalFresh benefits. Also, he'll only need to complete a simplified SAR7 form once a year instead of the full recertification. The ESAP program really does make things easier for seniors.

anybody else notice how the rich ppl banks got chip cards like 8yrs ago but somehow its "too hard" to protect our benfits?? Makes me so mad!! They said identity theft is a "high priority" but we still waiting YEARS for basic protection??

I'm still tracking your case - any updates? Were you able to reach your county worker or get emergency benefits issued? The fraud investigation will still take time, but you should be able to get at least partial replacement benefits while waiting.

UPDATE: Just checked my EBT card again and the extra supplement just posted! It was $90 for my household (me + 2 kids). So looks like they ARE sending them out separately just like everyone said. Thanks for all the helpful info!

To answer the question about whether this is recurring: No, this January 2025 supplement is a one-time payment. It's part of the emergency food assistance measure passed in the last budget session to address rising food costs. It's separate from your regular CalFresh benefits and won't continue in future months unless there's new legislation. Also, for those who are confused about seeing their deposit history, you can request an EBT transaction history either through the BenefitsCal portal or by calling the EBT customer service line and requesting a mailed statement. This will show exactly when deposits were made and in what amounts.

Happened 2 me twice last yr. The county gave me replacement $$ but took almost 2 weeks. Make sure u tell them u have no food so they mark it URGENT. also change where u shop, someone at that store might be stealing card #s

UPDATE: I finally got through to the county using the Claimyr service mentioned above. They took my fraud report, deactivated my old card, are sending a new one with expedited shipping, and put a note on my account about the fraud attempt. The worker also told me my recertification next month won't be affected at all. Just wanted to update everyone in case someone else has this problem!

Just got an update from a friend who works at DPSS - apparently the system issue affected people with case numbers ending in 3, 7, and 9 the most. They're processing those accounts manually now, so benefits should appear within 48 hours. Might be worth checking your case number to see if you fall in that group.

UPDATE: My benefits just hit my account about an hour ago! For anyone else waiting, looks like they're working through the backlog. Check your balance if you haven't already today.