CalFresh offices closed with no notice - anyone know what's happening?

same thing happened at my office! in sacramento county. showed up with all my verification docs and nobody there. security guard said something about a statewide training???

This is likely the quarterly statewide CalFresh training day that happens four times per year. County offices should have notified clients with appointments scheduled during the closure, but many counties are understaffed right now. Don't worry about your recertification deadline though - there's a process for this. Call your county's main CalFresh line (not your worker) tomorrow morning and explain you had a scheduled interview during the closure. They are required to reschedule you and provide a 'good cause' extension on your recertification deadline when the office was closed for a scheduled appointment.

their always pulling this crap!!!! my benefits got cut off last month cause of THEIR mistake and took 3 weeks to fix. try using benefitscal.com to upload any documents you have. at least then theres proof you submitted stuff on time. the whole system is rigged to make us lose benefits i swear

I just called the main CalFresh hotline for my county (different from yours) and they confirmed there's a mandatory training happening today. All offices should reopen normal hours tomorrow. The representative said they're automatically extending deadlines for anyone with appointments today, and you don't need to do anything. But honestly, I wouldn't trust that - definitely call tomorrow to confirm your specific situation.

Anyone know when the quarterly trainings are scheduled for the rest of 2025? I want to mark my calendar so I don't waste time trying to go to a closed office.

This happened to me once before and it was a NIGHTMARE getting through on the phone the next day because EVERYONE was calling at once. I ended up using Claimyr.com to get through to a real person quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Saved me so much stress and I actually got my issue resolved same day. Just thought I'd mention it because tomorrow's phone lines will probably be jammed with everyone from today's appointments calling.

For future reference, there are a few ways to check if county offices are closed before making the trip: 1. Most counties now post office closures on their websites and social media accounts 2. You can sign up for text alerts from many counties by texting JOIN to the county's notification number (should be on their website) 3. Some counties have started using the BenefitsCal messaging system to notify about closures Regarding your recertification: California regulations require counties to provide a good cause extension when the office is closed on the day of your scheduled appointment. Your benefits cannot be discontinued for missing an interview if the office was closed. Make sure to document today's attempted visit in your case notes when you call tomorrow.

my cousin works for calfresh and she said they sometimes close for emergencies too like if theres a threat or something? maybe check local news?

just to update everyone i called my county (sacramento) and they said its definitely the quarterly training and offices will be open tomorrow. they're automatically adding 10 days to any deadlines for people with appointments today. the lady was super nice about it and said theyre sending notices but they went out late.