California CalFresh

To clarify about Summer EBT: It's a new federal program that California is implementing in 2025. It provides $120 per eligible child for the summer months (June-August) to help with food costs when school meals aren't available. It's separate from regular CalFresh but will use the same EBT card system. This is not specific to Orange County - it's a statewide program. Eligibility is tied to school meal programs, so children who receive free or reduced-price school meals should qualify automatically. The state is still finalizing implementation details, but households should receive notification about eligibility in late spring.

Hey everyone! I'm new to California (just moved to Irvine from Arizona) and I'm trying to navigate the CalFresh system here. Reading through this thread has been super helpful - especially learning about the Summer EBT program coming this year! My 7-year-old gets free lunch at school so it sounds like we'd qualify for that $120 benefit. I'm also dealing with the same issue of benefits not lasting the full month. Back in Arizona my EBT covered way more groceries for the same amount. Is there a list somewhere of all the deductions I should make sure Orange County knows about? I have childcare costs, medical expenses, and I'm paying utilities separately from rent. Sounds like I need to call and make sure they have everything on file to maximize my benefits. Thanks for all the detailed info in this thread - it's exactly what I needed to read!

whats the update? did u get ur new card yet or find a way to use ur benefits?

This is really helpful info everyone! I'm a new CalFresh recipient and had no idea about the mobile payment option or that they were being so proactive about fraud prevention. Good to know what to expect if this happens to me. Quick question - when you set up the mobile payment through BenefitsCal, do you need to verify your identity again or does it just link to your existing case automatically? Also wondering if there are any fees for using the mobile option vs the physical card?

So to summarize for anyone else confused like I was: P-EBT 3.0 is NOT coming back, but California is implementing the new permanent Summer EBT program starting summer 2025. It's about $120 per eligible child for the summer months, will be loaded automatically if your kids get free/reduced lunch or are on CalFresh, and this is separate from your regular monthly CalFresh benefits. Thanks everyone for clearing this up!

Just wanted to add that I work at a local food bank and we've been getting a lot of questions about this too. The confusion is understandable because the names are similar! We've been telling families that while the Summer EBT is great news, it's important to remember it only covers about 3 months. If you're struggling to stretch your CalFresh benefits year-round, don't forget about local food pantries and school backpack programs that can help fill the gaps. Many of us are open year-round and don't require extensive paperwork like government programs do.

this happens every time they do updates i swear. my cousin works for the county and says theyre always doing these "upgrades" that just mess everything up worse lol

I'm new to CalFresh and this is exactly what I was worried about! I just got approved last month in Fresno County and my benefits loaded fine then, but seeing posts like this makes me nervous. Is there anywhere we can sign up for notifications when there are system delays? It seems like they should have better communication about these issues, especially when families with kids are depending on these benefits for food.

Quick update on this situation - the EBT Edge website has been experiencing major issues since their March update. According to an announcement buried in the BenefitsCal portal (not even on the EBT website!), they're aware of the account lockout problems affecting both the website and mobile app. They recommend calling the EBT Customer Service line directly for account resets rather than going through your county CalFresh office. This is because the county workers often don't have direct access to the EBT card system - it's managed by a separate contractor. I hope this helps others dealing with the same frustration!

Glad you got it resolved! This whole thread is super helpful - I've been having similar issues but didn't know about the separate EBT customer service line or the phone freeze/unfreeze option. It's ridiculous that they don't make this information more obvious when the website is clearly having problems. I'm definitely going to start using the phone system instead of dealing with that buggy website. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions!