CalFresh EBT food replacement after power outage - urgent help needed!
My son just received his CalFresh benefits ($270) yesterday and I helped him grocery shop for the month. About 3 hours after we delivered all the food to his apartment, his power went out completely. It's been over 24 hours now and the electric company says it might not be fixed until tomorrow evening! I'm pretty sure all his refrigerated and frozen food is spoiled by now. He's a full-time student and literally can't afford to replace any of it. Does CalFresh offer any kind of disaster replacement benefits for power outages? Or is he just out of luck until next month? I know there are food banks, but he has dietary restrictions that make those difficult. Has anyone successfully gotten replacement benefits after a power outage? What documentation would he need?
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Paolo Esposito
YES!! He can get replacement benefits! My neighborhood had a 3-day outage last winter and I got my benefits replaced. He needs to report the loss within 10 days of the power outage. He should call the county office ASAP and tell them he lost food due to a power outage. They'll give him a form to fill out (I think it's called CF 303) where he has to list what food was lost and the approximate value. He'll also need proof of the power outage - either a note from the utility company or a news article about the outage in his area.
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Keisha Brown
•Thank you SO MUCH! I had no idea this was even possible. Do you know if he needs to wait until the power is back on before calling? And does he need to take photos of the spoiled food as proof?
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Amina Toure
He absolutely can get replacement benefits! The program is called "CalFresh Replacement Benefits" and its specifically for situations like power outages, appliance failures, disasters, etc. He needs to request the replacement within 10 days of the food loss. He'll need to submit Form CF 303 and provide proof of the power outage (utility company statement or news reports). The county will replace the portion of benefits that was lost due to the outage, up to the full monthly amount.
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Oliver Weber
•does it matter if its his fault? my fridge broke last month and i lost like half my food but i was afraid to ask cuz i havent paid for maintenance in my apartment so its kinda on me the fridge died
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FireflyDreams
Sorry your son is going through this! When I had a power outage last year I tried calling my county office for FIVE DAYS straight and couldn't get anyone on the phone. I finally used Claimyr.com and got through to a worker in 20 minutes. They have a service that calls the county for you and gets you connected to a real person. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8
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Keisha Brown
•Thank you for this suggestion! The county office phones are always so frustrating. I'll check this out if we have trouble getting through tomorrow morning.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
•I tried that service once when my benefits got cut off. It worked but seemed kinda sketchy to me. Like why should I have to pay extra just to talk to a worker? The whole system is broken if you ask me.
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Javier Morales
Actually theres a 10-day deadline to report food loss after any disaster including power outtages. Make sure your son gets documentation from the electric company showing the dates of the outage. They might ask him to fill out a affidavit about what food was lost. They MIGHT ask him to provide a list of what food was purchased with the EBT card but not always. Some countys are stricter than others.
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Keisha Brown
•Thanks for the info. I'll make sure he gets documentation from the power company. Do you know if they typically replace the full amount or just a portion? He used about $200 of his $270 on the shopping trip.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
The same EXACT thing happened to me in February and let me tell you getting replacement benefits was a NIGHTMARE!!!! I had to call like 20 times before someone would even talk to me, then they made me fill out this stupid form and get a letter from PG&E proving the power was out. THEN they only replaced HALF of what I lost saying I "couldn't prove" all the food was purchased with CalFresh. The whole system is designed to make us SUFFER!!!!
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Amina Toure
•I'm sorry you had such a difficult experience. While the process can be frustrating, most counties should replace the full amount of lost food purchased with CalFresh benefits as long as you provide proper documentation. If they only replaced half, you might have had the right to appeal that decision. For future reference, keeping receipts for major grocery purchases can help prove what was bought with EBT.
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Emma Anderson
Tell ur son 2 call the county office tomorrow morning when they open. They can usually process these pretty quick if u have all the right stuff. He'll need 2 tell them exactly what food was lost and how much it cost. My friend got her benefits replaced after her apartment complex had no power for 2 days last summer.
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Keisha Brown
•Thanks! He'll definitely call first thing tomorrow. Do you know if he needs to keep the spoiled food until someone from the county inspects it? Or can he throw it out now? It's starting to smell pretty bad in his apartment.
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Paolo Esposito
One important thing no one mentioned - if the power comes back on and it's been less than 4 hours, the food in the refrigerator might still be safe! Freezer food can last about 24-48 hours in a closed freezer. If the food doesn't feel cold anymore though, it's probably not safe. The CalFresh replacement process worked well for me, but just mentioning this in case some food might be salvageable!
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Keisha Brown
•Unfortunately it's been over 24 hours now, and his apartment is really warm. I think most things in the fridge are definitely gone, maybe some condiments might be okay. The freezer items are all thawed now too.
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Javier Morales
To clarify some confusion I'm seeing in these comments - your son will need to file a CF 303 form (CalFresh Replacement Request) within 10 days. He'll need to verify: 1) The power outage occurred (utility company documentation), 2) The approximate value of food lost, and 3) That the food was purchased with CalFresh benefits. They typically replace the portion that was lost, so if he spent $200 of his $270 on perishable foods that spoiled, he should request $200 in replacement.
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Keisha Brown
•Thank you for breaking this down so clearly! We'll document everything and be sure to file within the 10-day window. I appreciate all the helpful advice everyone has shared.
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Oliver Weber
Make sure he doesn't throw away the food until after he submits the form!! My cousin had this happen and they asked her to take pictures of the spoiled food as proof. Also tell him to check his benifitscal account to see if they sent him any messages about it
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Amina Toure
•While documentation is important, most counties don't typically require photos of spoiled food - the power outage verification is usually sufficient. However, having a detailed list of what was lost is essential. Your advice about checking BenefitsCal is excellent though - all communications about the replacement request will appear there.
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