CalFresh EBT amount decreased by $7 this month - why the random reduction?

This happened to me last month too! Mine went down by about $12 which doesn't seem like much but every dollar counts when you're budgeting groceries. I called the CalFresh office and after 2 hours on hold (ugh) they told me it was because of the annual cost-of-living adjustment to the standard utility allowance. Apparently this affects your shelter deduction calculation which then affects your final benefit amount. Try checking your last approval letter to see if your shelter/utility deduction changed.

$7 less isnt much tho be grateful ur still getting benefits some of us got cut off completely

The $7 decrease is most likely due to one of these reasons: 1. The standard utility allowance (SUA) adjustment that happens annually in October 2. A slight change in the shelter deduction calculation 3. Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) that affect the benefit calculation formula Even without reporting changes, these automatic adjustments can modify your benefit amount slightly. The county is supposed to send notices explaining any changes, but sometimes they don't arrive or end up in spam folders if you chose electronic notifications. If you want to know the exact reason, you can request a detailed benefit calculation from your county worker. They can provide a breakdown showing exactly how your benefit was calculated this month compared to last month.

mine go up and down all the time lol i stopped tryin to figure it out

Have you checked if there was an Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) change? Sometimes the threshold amounts change with federal poverty level updates, and if your income is near that threshold, even slight adjustments can affect your benefit amount. Another possibility is a change in the maximum allotment amounts that happen periodically. If you can't reach anyone at your county office (which is frustratingly common), I'd suggest using Claimyr.com - it's a service that gets you through to a real CalFresh worker without the endless hold times. I used it last month when I had a verification issue and got through in minutes instead of hours. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8

If you look at the Federal Register for 2025, there were small adjustments made to the SNAP/CalFresh benefit calculation formula that took effect recently. The standard deduction and maximum shelter deduction both changed slightly, which can result in small benefit changes even when your personal situation stays exactly the same. I recommend logging into your BenefitsCal account and checking your "Notices" section. There should be a benefit change notice explaining the exact calculation. If you can't find it, you have the right to request a detailed benefit calculation from your county office.

Just a heads up - sometimes they also round differently in the calculation too! My worker once explained that some months they might round one way and other months another way because of how their computer system processes the calculations. Super annoying but apparently normal.

Has the composition of your household changed at all? Even something like a household member turning a different age can sometimes affect the calculation. Also, did you recently receive any retroactive benefits from another program like SSI or Social Security? Sometimes that can trigger small adjustments.

I went through something similar a few months ago and it turned out to be related to the Maximum Allotment adjustments that happen federally. What helped me was calling my county office and asking them to walk through the benefit calculation step by step - they can see exactly what changed between your last issuance and this one. Also, if you have dependents, sometimes there are small changes to the dependent deductions that aren't always obvious. The $7 difference sounds frustrating but it's likely one of those automatic system adjustments everyone mentioned. Definitely worth getting the explanation though so you know what to expect going forward!