CalFresh EBT increase October 2025 - different benefit amounts this month?

Yes, this is the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for CalFresh that always happens on October 1st. The USDA adjusts the maximum benefit amounts each federal fiscal year based on inflation and food costs. For 2025, there's about a 12% increase across all household sizes. You should have received a notice in your BenefitsCal account or by mail explaining the change, but the county offices are sometimes slow sending those out.

yep got more 2, family of 4 and went from $893 to $981!! no complainin here lol

Wait what?? I didn't get ANY increase! My amount is exactly the same as last month. Do I need to call my caseworker? Is there something wrong with my case??? I thought everyone was supposed to get this increase automatically?

THEY NEVER TELL US ANYTHING!!! I got a small increase too but no notice, no explanation, nothing. They expect us to just figure it out ourselves! I've been on CalFresh for 3 years and every October there's some change and every time it's the same story - no communication. Why can't they just send a text or email explaining these things? Not everyone knows about COLA or remembers it from year to year.

I work at a community resource center and we've been helping people with this exact question all week! Yes, it's the annual COLA adjustment that happens October 1st each year. For 2025, household maximum benefits increased about 12% due to rising food costs. This is normal and happens automatically - you don't need to do anything to get it. Here's the new maximum monthly amounts by household size for CA for anyone curious: 1 person: $291 2 people: $535 3 people: $766 4 people: $973 5 people: $1,155 Remember that most households get less than the maximum based on your income calculation, but everyone should see some increase unless income changes offset it.

is this the same for CalWorks too? my sister gets CalWorks and didnt see any change this month

anybody tried to call the ebt customer service bout this? i tried n was on hold for 45mins then they hang up on me lol. classic

If anyone needs to actually speak to a CalFresh worker about their specific benefit amount or has questions about this increase, try using Claimyr.com - it's been a lifesaver for me. They basically hold your place in the county phone queue and call you back when a real person is about to answer. I used to waste hours getting disconnected, but with their service I got through to my worker in about 30 minutes without having to stay on hold. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 that shows how it works. Really helpful for these beginning-of-month situations when everyone's calling about changes.

Update: I checked my BenefitsCal account and there WAS a notice about the increase dated September 22! I just never saw it because I don't log in regularly. Mystery solved! Thanks everyone for the helpful info. Guess I should check my messages more often lol.

Thanks for this thread! I'm new to CalFresh (just got approved last month) and had no idea about these annual COLA increases. I was so confused when I checked my balance yesterday and saw an extra $45. I actually thought there was some kind of error and was worried they'd take it back! This explains everything. Really helpful to see the maximum amounts by household size too - now I understand why mine isn't the full amount since I have some part-time income. Great to know this happens every October so I won't be surprised next year.