CalFresh payment date changed? Usually get benefits on 1st, now saying 7th?

CalFresh staggered their issuance dates starting this year (2025). Your new permanent issuance date is based on the last digit of your case number. They should have sent a notice about this change back in November or December. Basically everyone who used to get benefits on the 1st has now been assigned a specific day between the 1st-10th of each month to help reduce system overload. You can check your exact issuance date on the BenefitsCal app or website under 'Case Details.' This is definitely permanent - all counties in California made this change at the same time.

yea mine changed too from 1st to 4th. sucked cause i didnt know either and had no food for a few days. they dont care if u didnt get the notice tbh. my friend said the same thing happend to her

I went through this exact same thing!!! They changed mine from the 1st to the 9th and I only found out when my card didn't reload. I was FURIOUS because I have 3 kids and we had planned our entire month's budget around getting food stamps on the 1st like always. I called the county office SIX TIMES before I finally got through to a human. Spent nearly two hours on hold total. They basically said there's nothing they can do - the change is permanent and system-wide. Something about "distributing the load on their systems" or whatever. They claim they sent notices to everyone but SO MANY people are saying they never got one!! I ended up having to go to a food bank to get through until my new date. Maybe try that if you're really struggling this month?

This is a permanent change for all CalFresh recipients statewide. The official reason is to reduce system strain and improve customer service by spreading benefit issuance throughout the month. Your specific issuance date is determined by the last digit of your case number. This information should be available: 1. On your most recent Notice of Action 2. In your BenefitsCal account under case details 3. By calling the EBT customer service line Unfortunately, there's no way to request a one-time exception for this month. However, if you're experiencing a food emergency, you can: 1. Apply for emergency CalFresh (if you qualify) at your county office 2. Visit a local food bank (findafoodbank.org) 3. Ask about community emergency food assistance programs when you speak with your county worker If you're trying to reach your county worker but keep getting disconnected, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you skip the phone queues and get to a human representative quickly. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8

there changing all kinds of rules these days... they changed my reporting date too and then almost discontinued my benifits when i sent in my SAR7 on the old schedule smh. the county never tells u nothing important but then expects us to know everything!!! i had to go to my moms house for dinner for 3 days straight bc i didnt have my calfresh money when i expected

Question - does anyone know if this also affects CalWORKs payment dates? My worker told me my CalFresh date changed but didn't mention anything about my cash aid. I get both on the same EBT card but now I'm worried if that's changing too...

Update: I managed to get through to my county worker today! They confirmed my new date is the 7th of each month going forward. For anyone else dealing with this - they told me food banks are getting extra supplies right now because so many people are caught off guard by the change. Also, if you have elderly or disabled household members, you might qualify for expedited help this month. Make sure to mention that specifically if you call in.

I'm so sorry this happened to you too! I just went through the exact same thing - my benefits were supposed to come on the 1st but got moved to the 5th. I had no idea about the change either and was completely caught off guard when my card didn't reload. What really helped me was going to the food pantry at my local church - they didn't ask a lot of questions and had fresh produce and canned goods. Also, if you have any neighbors or friends who might have extra non-perishables, don't be afraid to ask. Most people understand how tough it is right now. I also learned that you can check your exact new date by logging into the BenefitsCal website or calling the EBT customer service number on the back of your card. At least now we know what to expect going forward, even though the timing really stinks for this first month!

I'm dealing with this same issue right now! My benefits usually come on the 1st but now they're saying the 6th. Like everyone else, I never got any notice about this change and I'm really struggling to make it through the week. I called my county office this morning and after being on hold for over an hour, the worker told me this is happening statewide and there's nothing they can do to help with this transition month. She did mention that many food banks are aware of this situation and have increased their inventory to help people who are caught between their old and new dates. I'm planning to hit up the food bank tomorrow morning. It's frustrating that they made such a big change without better communication, but at least now I know what to expect going forward. Hang in there - we'll get through this!

I'm going through this exact same situation! My benefits always came on the 1st but now they're saying the 10th - that's over a week I have to wait! Like everyone else here, I never received any notice about this change and I'm really frustrated about it. I wanted to share something that helped me get through this week - I found out that many Sikh temples (called gurdwaras) offer free community meals every day, not just on weekends. You don't have to be Sikh to eat there, and they don't ask questions. The food is really good too! There's also an app called "Too Good To Go" where restaurants and grocery stores sell their leftover food at huge discounts at the end of the day. I also called 211 (just dial 2-1-1) and they gave me a list of food pantries in my area that I didn't even know existed. Some of them are open on different days so you might be able to get help multiple times this week if you really need it. This whole situation is so stressful but reading everyone's comments makes me feel less alone. We shouldn't have to scramble like this because they can't communicate properly!

This same thing just happened to me! My benefits were always deposited on the 1st but now they're saying the 9th. I had absolutely no notice about this change and I'm really struggling right now with two young kids to feed. I managed to get some help at a local food pantry yesterday, but I wanted to share something else I discovered - many elementary schools that participate in the free/reduced lunch program also have weekend backpack programs where they send kids home with food for the weekend. Even if your kids don't normally get free lunch, they might have emergency food available if you explain your situation to the school counselor or main office. Also, I found out that some Walmart and Target locations have community bulletin boards near the entrance where people post about free community meals or food giveaways. It's worth checking if you're driving around looking for resources. The lack of proper communication about this change is just unacceptable. So many families are going hungry this week because they couldn't be bothered to make sure everyone actually got the notice. At least we have this community to share resources and support each other through it!

I'm so sorry you're going through this! The same thing just happened to me - my benefits were always on the 1st but now they've moved to the 6th. I also never received any notice about the change and was completely caught off guard when my card didn't reload. I wanted to share a few things that helped me get through this week: First, I called 211 and they gave me a list of local food pantries I didn't know existed. Some are open different days so you might be able to visit multiple ones if needed. Also, many grocery stores throw out perfectly good food that's just past the "sell by" date - if you talk to the manager and explain your situation, some are willing to let you have it for free rather than tossing it. Another thing I discovered is that many community colleges have food pantries for students, but some also help community members during emergencies. It's worth calling to ask if you live near one. The whole situation is really frustrating because this is such a major change that affects people's ability to eat, and they clearly didn't do a good job making sure everyone knew about it. But at least now we know what to expect going forward. Hang in there - you're definitely not alone in dealing with this!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation! My benefits have always come on the 1st but now they're telling me the 8th. Like so many others here, I never got any notice about this change and I'm really struggling to make it through the week with no food money. What's been helping me is reaching out to local churches - even if you're not religious, many have food pantries or community meal programs. I also discovered that some community centers have "little free pantries" (like little free libraries but with food) where you can take what you need. I wanted to add another resource that saved me this week - if you have a smartphone, there are apps like "Flashfood" and "Too Good To Go" where grocery stores and restaurants sell their surplus food at major discounts. I got $40 worth of groceries for $12 yesterday through Flashfood. It's so frustrating that they made such a huge change without proper communication. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me feel less alone though. We're all just trying to feed our families and shouldn't have to scramble like this because of their poor planning. Thanks to everyone sharing resources - this community is really helping people get through a tough situation!