Anyone received P-EBT 4.0 benefits for school kids in California yet?
I've been checking my EBT card balance for weeks now waiting for the P-EBT 4.0 benefits that were supposed to be issued for my kids (ages 8 and 11). The website said eligible California students would start receiving them in early 2025, but it's already mid-February and nothing has shown up. My neighbor said her kids got theirs last week, but when I called the P-EBT hotline, it just gave me a generic message about benefits being issued through April. Has anyone here actually received their P-EBT 4.0 funds yet? I'm getting worried because we're really counting on this extra food assistance since my hours got cut at work.
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Ryder Ross
I got P-EBT 4.0 for my kindergartener last Friday! The amount was $542 for the first distribution. From what I understand, they're releasing them in batches based on which school district your children attend. Some districts in Northern California got theirs first, then they're moving south. If your neighbor got hers and you're in the same district, you might want to verify your mailing address is correct on the school records since that's what they use for matching. The P-EBT hotline is useless right now because of call volume.
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Kyle Wallace
•Thanks for the info! We're in the same district but different schools. I'll double-check our address with the school tomorrow. Do you know if they're sending new cards or loading them onto existing EBT cards? We still have our cards from the previous P-EBT program.
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Gianni Serpent
my daughter got hers yesterday!!! but my son didnt get his yet and theyre at the same school. makes no sense. i tried calling like 6 times but cant get thru to anyone
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Henry Delgado
•Same situation here! One kid got it, one didn't. The whole system is so frustrating. My son qualifies for free school lunch but somehow didn't get the P-EBT even though his sister did. I'm thinking of going to the county office in person because the phone system is a joke.
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Olivia Kay
Just to clarify some confusion - P-EBT 4.0 is separate from regular CalFresh. Even if you already get CalFresh benefits, P-EBT comes separately and is specifically for school-age kids who qualify for free/reduced lunch. They're issuing benefits in phases throughout Feb-April 2025. If your kids qualified for free/reduced meals during the 2024-2025 school year, they should receive it. The first batch was sent to Northern CA counties around Feb 5th, Central CA started Feb 10th, and Southern CA is scheduled for late Feb through March. Each eligible child should receive approximately $540 total, possibly split into multiple payments. If your neighbor received it but you haven't, give it another week before panicking. They're not all sent on the same day even within the same district.
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Kyle Wallace
•Thank you for explaining! We do receive regular CalFresh but I wasn't sure about the timing for P-EBT. My kids definitely qualify for free lunch. I'll try to be patient for another week or so. It's just hard when you're budgeting for groceries and counting on that extra assistance.
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Joshua Hellan
I work with a community resource center and we've been getting TONS of calls about P-EBT 4.0. Here's what I know for sure: 1. Benefits are being issued in waves from February to April 2025 2. If your children qualified for free/reduced lunch during the qualifying period, they should receive it 3. If you already received P-EBT before, it will be loaded to your existing P-EBT card (not your regular CalFresh EBT card) 4. If this is your first time, you'll receive a new P-EBT card in the mail 5. The total benefit is around $540 per eligible child If you haven't received anything by March 15th, that's when I'd start investigating. The P-EBT hotline (833-979-3329) is completely overwhelmed right now. When they first announced this round of benefits, they weren't prepared for the call volume.
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Kyle Wallace
•This is super helpful! We do have the P-EBT cards from before, so I'll keep checking the balance on those. Our school is in Central CA so based on the timeline you mentioned, we might be in the next batch. I appreciate the specific information!
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Jibriel Kohn
Am I the only one who thinks this whole P-EBT system is ridiculously confusing??? Why can't they just add it to our regular CalFresh EBT cards instead of having a separate card? And the customer service is TERRIBLE. I've been calling for THREE DAYS and can't get through to a human being. My kids qualify for free lunch but I have no idea if we're getting P-EBT or when. The website is useless too. Just another example of how they make it as difficult as possible to get benefits we qualify for. 😡
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Olivia Kay
•I understand your frustration, but P-EBT is actually a federal program that's separate from CalFresh (which is state-administered). They use different funding sources and eligibility criteria, which is why they can't be combined on one card. That said, you're absolutely right that the communication has been poor and the customer service is overwhelmed. If your children receive free or reduced-price school meals, they should be eligible for P-EBT 4.0. The timing depends on your county and school district.
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Henry Delgado
I tried calling the P-EBT hotline 17 times yesterday and finally got through around 5:30pm. They told me benefits are still being processed and to wait until early March before calling again. The woman said their system doesn't show individual accounts until the benefits have already been approved for distribution, so calling early doesn't help. She said some counties are faster than others and there's no way to check your status in advance. So frustrating!
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Edison Estevez
•If you're having trouble reaching someone at P-EBT or any government benefits office, you might want to try Claimyr. I used it last month when I couldn't get through about my CalFresh recertification issue. They basically wait on hold for you and call you back when they get a human on the line. Saved me hours of frustration. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. It worked really well for me when I was desperately trying to resolve my benefits issue.
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Gianni Serpent
does anyone no if u can use p-ebt at farmer markets? i heard they double the amount at some markets but not sure if thats only for regular calfresh or p-ebt too????
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Ryder Ross
•Yes, you can use P-EBT at farmers markets! The Market Match program that doubles your benefits (up to $10-$20 depending on the market) works with both regular CalFresh EBT and P-EBT cards. I used mine at the downtown farmers market last weekend and got $10 extra for produce. It's a great way to stretch your benefits and get fresh fruits and vegetables. Most markets in California participate in the program now.
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Olivia Kay
UPDATE: Just saw on the California Department of Social Services website that they've extended the P-EBT 4.0 distribution timeline through May 2025 due to "processing delays." So if you haven't received your benefits yet, that might explain why. They're also adding a status checker to the P-EBT website in early March where you can enter your child's information to see if/when benefits will be issued. That should help reduce some of the uncertainty and phone calls.
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Kyle Wallace
•Thank you for sharing this update! It's frustrating that there are delays, but I'm glad they're at least adding a status checker. That will be so much better than constantly calling or checking the card balance. I'll look for that feature in March.
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