Confused about P-EBT 3.0 card for my child - is this different from regular CalFresh benefits?

The P-EBT 3.0 card is completely different from your regular CalFresh benefits. P-EBT (Pandemic EBT) was created to help families with school-age children who would normally receive free or reduced-price school meals. The 3.0 version covers the 2024-2025 school year. Your regular CalFresh benefits will continue normally on your EBT card. The P-EBT card is an additional benefit specifically for your child. The cards are issued in the children's names because the benefit is tied to their school enrollment. As for why only one child received it - P-EBT cards are sometimes sent out in waves. Your other children might receive theirs in the coming weeks. However, eligibility can vary based on school attendance, school meal program participation, and other factors. Each child is evaluated separately.

I got P-EBT cards for my kids too but mine came all at once weird yours didnt. Check your mail careful cuz sometimes they look like junk mail and the cards are easy to miss. My cousin threw hers away by accident lol

To add some clarification about P-EBT 3.0: 1. Yes, this is completely separate from your regular CalFresh benefits. You'll continue receiving your normal CalFresh amount. 2. The extra amounts you received in October and November on your regular EBT card were likely CalFresh Emergency Allotments which ended for most states. They're different from P-EBT. 3. P-EBT 3.0 is specifically for school-aged children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. The benefit is intended to help with meals during school closures or remote learning days. 4. Each child gets their own card because the benefit is tied to the individual child's school enrollment and attendance. 5. Your other children should receive cards if they qualify for free/reduced lunch. The cards are often mailed in batches, so they might arrive separately. Make sure to activate each P-EBT card when you receive it. You'll need to create a PIN for each card separately.

I'm dealing with the same exact thing right now. Got a P-EBT card for my middle kid but not my youngest or oldest. When I called the P-EBT hotline, it was impossible to get through - just kept getting disconnected after 45+ minutes of waiting. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person at my county office. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and call you back when they get a real person. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 Anyway, the worker confirmed my other kids' cards are coming in a different batch. Apparently they're sending them out based on last name or something. They also confirmed it doesn't affect regular CalFresh at all.

THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!! The gov't never explains ANYTHING clearly!!! My kids got P-EBT cards last year and half the stores wouldn't even accept them!! And then the benefits expired before we could use them all because NOBODY TOLD US there was an expiration date!!! 😤😤😤 And yes the emergency extra benefits are GONE. They stopped them and didn't even send proper notices to people. I found out when my benefits suddenly dropped by $275 in December. Called and the worker was like "oh yeah that program ended" THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP!!!!

Make sure to call your county workers to check that they have the right school information for all your kids. My friend's children didn't get P-EBT because their school information wasn't updated in the system. The county had their old school listed from when we moved last year, not their current one. Also, double-check that all your kids are properly listed on your CalFresh case. Sometimes they miss adding one of the children, especially if they were born after you initially applied. P-EBT benefits DO expire eventually, so use them! I think you have about 9 months to use them before they start to expire, but double-check that.

so can u use the p-ebt at the same stores as regular ebt?? my sister got one for her kid but was told some places dont take it?? is that true??

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I called the county office this morning (used that Claimyr service someone mentioned - it really worked!) and got some answers. The worker confirmed that my other three kids should be getting P-EBT cards too, they're just sending them in batches over the next few weeks. She verified all my kids are properly listed with their current schools. She also explained that this benefit is completely separate from our regular CalFresh, so I'll continue getting our usual amount on our regular EBT card. The P-EBT cards are just additional help specifically for the kids because they qualify for free school meals. I'm going to activate my 6-year-old's card today and start using it. And I'll keep an eye out for the other cards in the mail. Thanks again for clearing up my confusion!