Anyone received P-EBT benefits for school-age children in LA County yet? Waiting since March
I'm going crazy waiting for the new P-EBT benefits that were supposed to be distributed in March for school-aged kids. My son is 7 and attends Rosewood Elementary in LA County, and we haven't received anything yet. The school confirmed he's eligible for free lunch, so we should be getting the P-EBT card automatically, right? It's May already and nothing in the mail. Bills are piling up and grocery prices keep climbing. Has anyone in LA County with kids around 7-8 years old received their P-EBT cards yet? If yes, when did you get them? And should I be calling someone or just keep waiting? Getting really worried since we were counting on this extra food assistance.
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Isabella Ferreira
still waiting here too! my daughters 8 and 10, both at Baldwin Hills Elementary. nothing in mailbox yet. heard from another mom that they were delayed again but i cant find any announcements online. super frustrating cuz we also really need it with these insane food prices
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Malik Johnson
•Ugh, that's so disappointing but thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one waiting. Did that other mom mention how long the delay might be? I can't find any info either.
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Ravi Sharma
P-EBT is technically separate from CalFresh, though they both provide food assistance. For the 2024-2025 school year P-EBT distribution, they're doing a staggered rollout by county and age group. According to the most recent update, LA County school-age children should see cards arriving between May 15-June 20. The distribution schedule was pushed back from the original March timeline due to verification issues at the state level. You don't need to call anyone - if your child receives free/reduced lunch, the card will come automatically to the address on file with the school district.
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Malik Johnson
•Thank you so much for this information! I had no idea there was a new timeline. Is there a website where I can check for these updates? I've been looking everywhere.
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NebulaNomad
got mine last week for my 6 year old! we're in pasadena area tho, maybe they're doing different areas of LA county at different times?? card came in plain white envelope almost threw it away thinking it was junk mail lol
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Freya Thomsen
•Wait, is P-EBT the same as the Summer EBT program? Or is this something different? My kids (5 and 9) are on free lunch too but I'm confused about which program this thread is about. We haven't gotten anything either way.
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Omar Fawaz
There's been a lot of confusion about the P-EBT timeline. To clarify: P-EBT and Summer EBT are different programs. The current P-EBT benefits being distributed are for the 2024-2025 school year. LA County is being processed in batches based on zip codes (Pasadena area started first, explaining why someone there received it). If you want to check your specific status, you unfortunately can't do it online. You need to call the P-EBT Helpline at 877-328-9677, but wait times are extremely long (often 2+ hours). I recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to avoid the wait - they'll call and hold your place in line, then call you when a representative is available. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. It saved me hours of frustration when checking on my kids' cards.
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Malik Johnson
•Thank you!! I'll check out that service because there's no way I can stay on hold for 2+ hours with my work schedule. And thanks for explaining the difference between P-EBT and Summer EBT.
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Chloe Martin
This whole P-EBT rollout has been a DISASTER every single year!!! I've been waiting for my 8yo's card too and NOTHING. Last year they promised cards by April and we didn't get ours until JULY!! By then I'd already taken out a payday loan to cover groceries which put me in a hole I'm STILL climbing out of. Meanwhile the state sends out press releases congratulating themselves on what a great job they're doing. RIDICULOUS!!!!
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Diego Rojas
•same experience last year!! and when i finally did get the card it had way less $ on it than they said it would. whole system is broken
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Freya Thomsen
Ok so I just talked to someone at my son's school (he's 7 too!) and they said P-EBT cards for LA Unified are definitely coming but there's some processing delay? The lady in the office wasn't super clear but she said something about them having to verify student records manually because of a computer system issue. Has anyone actually received a card in LA Unified specifically, not just LA County?
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Ravi Sharma
•That matches what I've heard. There was a data integration problem between LAUSD's attendance system and the state PEBT processing system. For LAUSD specifically, they're expecting to start mailing cards around May 25th, continuing through mid-June. Districts with smaller enrollment like Pasadena have already started receiving theirs because their verification process was completed earlier.
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NebulaNomad
just got an update txt from my kiddos school - theyre saying now expect PEBT cards by June 10 for most of LA county. check if ur school has a parent text alert system maybe they sent somthing out??
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Malik Johnson
•Thanks for the tip! I just signed up for the text alerts from my son's school. Hopefully they'll send updates about the P-EBT cards.
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Isabella Ferreira
does anyone know how much the benefit is supposed to be this time? last year it was like $120 per month for each kid i think??
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Ravi Sharma
•For the 2024-2025 school year, the P-EBT benefit is $132 per eligible month per child. The current distribution covers eligible months from September 2024 through April 2025, so eligible children should receive up to $1,056 total on their cards (assuming they qualified for all months).
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Diego Rojas
i just got my kids p-ebt yesterday!!!! we're in Whittier (LA county) - check ur mail carefully cuz it comes in a super plain envelope!
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Malik Johnson
•That's great news! Gives me hope they're working through the county. I'll keep checking my mail carefully. Did your card have the full amount on it for all the months?
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Freya Thomsen
ok i'm confused again... if my kids get free lunch at school, do they automatically get these p-ebt cards? or did i need to apply somewhere? i don't remember filling out anything specific for p-ebt but we did complete the free lunch forms at the beginning of the school year
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Ravi Sharma
•You don't need to apply separately for P-EBT. If your children are approved for free or reduced-price meals through your school (through either an application or direct certification if you receive CalFresh or other qualifying benefits), they are automatically eligible for P-EBT. The cards are mailed directly to the address on file with your school district. No additional application is necessary.
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Malik Johnson
UPDATE: Just got our P-EBT card in the mail today!! (May 17) We're in the Sherman Oaks area of LA. It did come in a very plain envelope that I almost missed. It has the full amount for all months! Such a relief. Hope everyone else gets theirs soon!
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Isabella Ferreira
•omg yay!! gonna check my mail extra carefully today!!
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Freya Andersen
Congrats Malik! So happy to hear you finally got yours! I'm in Van Nuys and still waiting but this gives me hope that they're working through the San Fernando Valley area. Going to be extra careful checking my mail now. Thanks for the update and glad you got the full amount!
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