CalFresh January benefits not showing up on EBT Edge or BenefitsCal - anyone else experiencing this?

The same thing happened to me this morning! I always get my benefits on the 6th but nothing's showing up either. I called the EBT customer service line and waited 45 minutes just to be told there's a "processing delay" affecting some accounts but they couldn't tell me when it would be fixed. Apparently it has something to do with the quarterly system update they were doing over the weekend. The representative said benefits should appear within 72 hours, but that doesn't help much when you need groceries today.

mine showd up but was only HALF of what i usually get!!! did anyone else get less $$ this month?? my worker never called me back either

This is likely related to the system maintenance that happened over the New Year's weekend. When benefits are delayed like this, it's almost always a technical issue rather than something wrong with your specific case. However, if you're completely out of food, you should call your county office and ask about emergency benefits - they can sometimes issue same-day EBT cards with emergency allotments if you explain your situation. A few things to check while you wait: 1. Make sure your quarterly SAR7 wasn't due in December (sometimes people forget these and benefits stop) 2. Verify your contact information is current on BenefitsCal so you haven't missed any notices 3. Check if you exceeded the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) in the last few months without reporting it If none of these apply, then it's very likely just the system delay others mentioned.

I've been dealing with CalFresh for 5 years now and let me tell you, the system is ALWAYS having issues the first week of January! Every. Single. Year. Last year my benefits were delayed 8 days! The county never admits it's their fault and blames it on "system updates" or "verification delays." Meanwhile, families go hungry waiting for them to fix their computers. I've learned to save a little extra in December because this ALWAYS happens. The worst part is you can't even get through to a real person to explain the situation. 🤬

I used to have the same problem every month trying to reach someone at the county. Always busy signals or getting disconnected after waiting for an hour. I finally found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to a real person at the CalFresh office. They basically hold your place in line and call you when they have a worker on the phone. Saved me so much time and frustration! Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 Definitely worth it when you're dealing with emergency benefit issues like this.

UPDATE: Just checked with a colleague at the county office. There is indeed a system-wide delay affecting benefits scheduled for deposit between January 4-7, 2025. The system should be fully updated by tomorrow morning, and all pending benefits will be posted by noon. This is related to the annual benefit amount adjustments being implemented. If your benefits don't appear by tomorrow afternoon, then you should definitely contact your county worker. For those experiencing a true food emergency, remember that you can request expedited same-day emergency benefits in person at your local county office.

Just wanted to chime in that if this happens again, food banks can help bridge the gap. 211 can connect you with local resources. No one should go hungry waiting for EBT systems to update!

One more tip - if you're worried about this happening in the future, you can sign up for text or email alerts on the EBT Edge website. They sometimes (not always) send notifications about system maintenance or deposit delays. Has saved me some stress a couple times.