CalFresh benefits missing from EBT today - normally deposits on this date every month

Happened to me today too!! I always get mine on the 10th as well and nothing showed up. Something must be going on with the system. My worker told me last time that benefit dates are supposed to be consistent each month unless they notify you of a change.

That's a little reassuring that I'm not the only one. Did you try calling your county office? I tried calling the main EBT number but couldn't get through to anyone.

This could be happening for a few different reasons:\n\n1. System delay - sometimes the EBT system has processing delays that can last 24-48 hours\n2. Missing SAR7 - if you didn't turn in your Semi-Annual Report that was due last month\n3. Income reporting threshold - if you went over your IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) and reported it, they may have recalculated your benefits\n4. Recertification issues - if you were due for annual recertification and paperwork wasn't fully processed\n\nI'd recommend checking BenefitsCal online to see if there are any notices about your case before spending hours on the phone. Sometimes it shows pending actions needed that they haven't mailed out yet.

Thank you for the detailed response. I did complete my SAR7 last month and got confirmation it was received. I haven't had any income changes. I didn't see any notices on BenefitsCal but maybe I should check again? My recertification isn't due until August.

UGH the SAME THING happened to me two months ago!!! I spent THREE DAYS trying to reach someone at the county. Turns out they were \

that sux. they do that random stuff all the time. like why cant they at least text us or something?

is there a holiday today maybe? sometimes that delays things but usually they come early not late

No, I checked and there's no holiday today. And you're right, usually they come early if there's a holiday.

If your benefits aren't showing up on their regular issuance date and you've confirmed your case is active, I'd recommend calling your county worker directly. The challenge is that county offices are notoriously difficult to reach by phone.\n\nI had a similar issue last year and discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com), which helped me get through to a live person at my county office without waiting on hold for hours. They have a service that basically waits on hold for you and calls you back when a real person picks up. Saved me so much stress when my benefits weren't showing up. They have a video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8\n\nWhatever approach you take, make sure to ask them specifically about your \

Thank you so much for this suggestion! I'll check out that service. Spending hours on hold is impossible with three kids at home. I definitely need to ask about those specific things you mentioned.

Have you checked if there was a system update scheduled? Last year around this time they were upgrading something and benefits were delayed by 2 days for some people. They did send notices but mine came AFTER the delay already happened! 🙄 Also make sure your EBT card hasn't expired - I've seen people panic about missing benefits only to realize they needed a new card.

I checked my card expiration date and it's good until 2027. But your point about system updates is interesting - I don't remember getting any notice about that. Hopefully it's just a temporary delay!

Update: Just got off the phone with my county worker (finally!) and she said there is indeed a system delay affecting multiple counties. Benefits should be loaded by tomorrow morning. They're sending text notifications to people who have signed up for text alerts.

THANK YOU for the update!!! That's such a relief to hear. I never signed up for text alerts - definitely going to do that now. This was so stressful!

how do u sign up for text alerts? never knew that was a thing

Glad to hear it was just a system delay! For anyone following this thread who wants to sign up for CalFresh text alerts, you can do this through your BenefitsCal account under notification preferences. This way you'll get alerts about benefit issuances, upcoming SAR7 due dates, and system issues like this one. It's definitely worth setting up.

thx for info, just signed up for alerts

Update: My benefits just loaded! About 36 hours late but they're finally there. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions during my mini-panic. I've signed up for text alerts now so hopefully I'll be notified if this happens again.

So glad everything worked out! This is exactly why I love this community - everyone jumps in to help when someone is stressed about their benefits. I've been through similar scares and it's awful when you're trying to plan meals for your family. For future reference, I've found that system delays like this tend to happen around the same time each year when they do maintenance or upgrades. Definitely keep those text alerts active - they've saved me from panicking multiple times. Hope your grocery shopping went well!