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.

Just wanted to add for anyone still confused - I called my county office this morning and they confirmed this is the standard annual COLA increase that happens every October 1st. The worker told me it's based on USDA's Thrifty Food Plan adjustments and is completely automatic - no action needed from us. She also mentioned that if you're getting less than the maximum for your household size, your actual increase might be smaller than 12% because it depends on your specific income calculation. But everyone eligible should see at least some increase unless there were other changes to your case. Hope this helps clarify things for folks who were worried like I was!

This is so helpful - I was panicking when I saw the extra money thinking it was some kind of system error! I'm a single mom with two kids and went from $598 to $672 this month. I actually called my caseworker yesterday worried they'd demand it back, but after reading everyone's explanations about the COLA adjustment I feel so much better. It's frustrating that they don't make these changes more obvious though. I've been on CalFresh for almost two years and somehow missed that this happens every October. The extra $74 is going to make a huge difference for groceries this month, especially with how expensive everything has gotten. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

I'm new to this community and CalFresh in general (just started receiving benefits 3 months ago), and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I was so confused when I saw an extra $83 on my card this morning - went from $412 to $495 for my household of 2. I actually spent 20 minutes on the phone with EBT customer service thinking there was a mistake before I found this discussion. It's really reassuring to know this is a normal annual thing that happens every October. I had no idea about COLA adjustments or that they were based on food cost inflation. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and explaining how this all works. The extra money couldn't come at a better time with how expensive groceries have gotten lately. Going to bookmark this community for sure - seems like there's always good info being shared here!

This whole thread has been super educational! I've been on CalFresh for about a year and completely forgot about the COLA increase from last October. When I saw an extra $62 on my card yesterday (went from $523 to $585 for my 3-person household), I honestly thought maybe they finally processed some change I'd reported months ago. It's really helpful seeing everyone's amounts and understanding that the increase varies based on your specific income situation. I feel kind of silly for not remembering this from last year, but at least now I know to expect it every October! The timing is perfect too since I was just stressing about how much more expensive everything is at the grocery store compared to last year. Thanks to everyone who explained the Thrifty Food Plan connection - I had no idea that's how they calculated these adjustments. Definitely going to set a calendar reminder for next September so I'm not confused again in 2026!