CalFresh P-EBT 4.0 only showing $108 deposit instead of full amount?
My kids just got their P-EBT 4.0 cards in the mail yesterday and I was super excited, but when I checked the balance this morning it only showed $108 loaded on each card. I thought they were supposed to get way more for the 2024-2025 school year? We qualified for free lunch and my neighbor said her kids got almost $500 each on theirs. Did anyone else only get $108? Is this just the first payment of many, or did something go wrong with our benefits? I'm worried because we were really counting on this money for groceries this month.
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Sophia Carson
mine only had $108 too!! thought it was just me. my sister's kids got like $430 each and we're in the same district + both get free lunch. makes no sense
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Ana Erdoğan
•That's exactly what I'm talking about! Makes me feel better I'm not alone but still frustrating. Did you try calling the P-EBT hotline yet?
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Elijah Knight
The P-EBT 4.0 rollout is happening in phases this year. The $108 is just the first installment covering August-September 2024. The remaining payments should be deposited over the next few months according to the schedule on the CDSS website. Each eligible child should receive approximately $481 total for the 2024-2025 school year, but they're not loading it all at once like they did with previous P-EBT distributions.
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Ana Erdoğan
•Thank you for explaining! The letter that came with the card didn't mention anything about phases or installments. Do you know when the next deposit is supposed to happen?
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Elijah Knight
•You're welcome! The next deposit should be around the third week of June for October-December 2024. Then there will be another in August for January-March 2025, and the final payment in October for April-June 2025. Each installment should be approximately $108-$129 depending on how many school days were in that period. If you want to verify your specific situation, you can check benefitscal.com or call the P-EBT hotline.
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Brooklyn Foley
OMG I've been trying to call that stupid P-EBT hotline for THREE DAYS and it just keeps hanging up on me!!! So frustrating!! They send these cards with barely any explanation and then make it impossible to talk to anyone about it. My kids got different amounts ($108 and $93) even though they're at the same school with the same free lunch status! Make it make sense!
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Jay Lincoln
•Try using Claimyr if you're having trouble getting through on the P-EBT hotline. I was in the same situation last week - kept getting disconnected - but with Claimyr I got through in about 10 minutes. They'll wait on hold and call you when a real person answers. Saved me hours of frustration! claimyr.com has a quick video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8
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Brooklyn Foley
•Thanks for the tip! Never heard of that service before but I'll definitely check it out. Did they actually help you with your P-EBT issue when you got through?
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Jay Lincoln
•Yeah, they were able to explain my situation. Turns out one of my kids had an issue with their school attendance records that affected their benefit amount. They fixed it right away once I actually got to talk to someone.
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Jessica Suarez
I work for a community organization that helps families with benefits, and we've seen this question come up a lot recently. P-EBT 4.0 is definitely rolling out in phases this year, which is different from previous rounds. The $108 represents about 25 days of benefits at $4.35 per day. If your children qualified for free/reduced meals through different methods (direct certification vs. application), or attend different schools with different operating days, they might receive slightly different amounts. Also, if a child wasn't enrolled for the full period, their amount would be prorated.
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Sophia Carson
•so is it worth trying to call them if both my kids got the same amount but my sister's kids got way more? we all get free lunch thru the same program
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Marcus Williams
It could also be related to what type of free lunch program your kids are on. This year they're calculating P-EBT 4.0 differently based on whether your kids get free lunch through CEP (Community Eligibility Provision), direct certification (like if you already get CalFresh), or through a standard application. My kids are at a CEP school and got $108, but my friend's kids who qualify through direct certification got $129 for the first payment.
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Ana Erdoğan
•That's interesting! My kids' school does have that CEP thing where everyone gets free lunch regardless of income. Maybe that's why we got less than my neighbor's kids who go to a different school. The whole system is so confusing.
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Lily Young
wait is p-ebt the same as calfresh? i thought they were different things. my kids got some random cards in mail but i thought it was a scam lol
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Jessica Suarez
•P-EBT and CalFresh are related but different programs. P-EBT provides food benefits to students who would normally receive free or reduced-price meals at school. It's legitimate, not a scam! Those cards can be used just like EBT cards to buy food. If you received them, your children likely qualify for free/reduced lunch at school. I'd recommend activating the cards as soon as possible since the benefits are valid.
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Lily Young
•oh dang! good thing i didnt throw them away! gotta go find them now lol
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Elijah Knight
Important update: I just checked the CDSS website and they've posted that some families are experiencing a delay with their full P-EBT 4.0 deposits. If you received only $108 but were expecting more, they recommend waiting until June 1st before calling. They're working through a backlog of processing and some accounts will see additional deposits over the next two weeks. This might explain why some families received different amounts.
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Ana Erdoğan
•Thank you for checking! That makes me feel better. I'll wait until June 1st before trying to call them. Really appreciate the information.
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Sophia Carson
does anyone know if u can use p-ebt at farmers markets like regular ebt? i heard u get extra $ that way
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Marcus Williams
•Yes! P-EBT works exactly like regular EBT at farmers markets. You can get the Market Match program which gives you up to $10 extra to spend on fruits and vegetables when you use at least $10 of your benefits. It's a great deal and the produce is usually fresher than grocery stores!
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