CalFresh benefits not loaded on the 8th - payment delay in 2025?

Same thing happening to me! My deposits usually hit on the 6th but nothing yet. I checked BenefitsCal and my case still shows as 'active' but no payments. Weird thing is they didnt send any notice about discontinuance or anything.

I think there's a system issue going on. I was at the grocery store yesterday and the lady in front of me had her CalFresh card declined. She said she was supposed to get her benefits on the 10th. The cashier said several people had mentioned the same problem that day.

There's actually a known technical issue affecting EBT deposits right now. The county sent an email notification to some recipients (though clearly not everyone). According to what I was told when I finally reached my caseworker, they're experiencing a processing delay with the state-level system that transfers funds to EBT accounts. They expect it to be resolved within 72 hours. If you need emergency food assistance until then, you can request an expedited benefit issuance by calling your county office and explaining the situation. Make sure to mention you have children in the home.

This happened to me last month too, though not for this long. Have you checked if there was an Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) change that maybe required additional verification? Sometimes they freeze benefits while waiting for docs even if they don't clearly communicate what they need.

I work with a community nonprofit that helps CalFresh recipients, and we've been flooded with calls about this issue. It's definitely a system-wide technical problem. The latest info we have is that benefits should start appearing by the 15th, but they're processing them in batches based on case numbers. If you need to reach someone at the county to request emergency assistance in the meantime, I've been recommending people try Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a service that helps you bypass the phone queues and get to a real person. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Several of our clients have used it successfully to request emergency benefits during this delay.

Has anyone tried going to the physical county office instead of calling? I'm wondering if that would be faster than waiting on the phone or for the system to fix itself. I'm down to ramen noodles and need to figure something out ASAP.

UPDATE: I just checked my EBT card and my benefits were finally loaded! Looks like they're starting to fix the issue. Check your balances, everyone!

Mine just came through too! I was getting really worried since I'm a single mom and needed to do grocery shopping today. This whole situation was so stressful - I wish they had sent out better notifications about the delay instead of leaving everyone in the dark. At least now I know to check this community when weird stuff happens with benefits. Thanks to everyone who shared info and resources!

I'm so relieved to find this thread! I'm new to CalFresh and when my benefits didn't show up on my usual day (the 9th), I thought I had somehow messed up my application or missed a deadline. I was panicking because I didn't know this could be a system-wide issue. Reading everyone's experiences here was way more informative than anything I could find on the official website. My benefits just loaded this morning too, so it looks like they're getting everyone caught up. Thank you all for sharing your situations - it really helped ease my anxiety as a newcomer to the program!