Confusing 'Sun Bucks' letter with 'G' code - new CalFresh benefit in Orange County?
Got a weird letter in my mail yesterday about something called 'Sun Bucks' and it had the letter G on it from Orange County. Is this related to my CalFresh benefits? The letter mentions food but I'm super confused because I've never heard of 'Sun Bucks' before. I called the regular CalFresh number but gave up after waiting 45 minutes. Anyone in Orange County get this too? Is this some new supplemental benefit program they're rolling out in 2025? My regular CalFresh deposit came through normal last week so I'm wondering if this is additional or if it's some kind of scam.
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Aaliyah Jackson
That Sun Bucks thing is NOT calfresh!! Its some weird grocery store promotion thing that OC is doing. My neighbr got one too and she doesnt even get benefits. i think its like a coupon program or somthing? the G might be for what grocery stores u can use it at. dont think its a scam but definetly not EBT related
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Giovanni Rossi
•Omg thank you! I was so confused because the letter had the county seal on it. So it's just a coupon program? Weird they'd mail it to me specifically though since I'm on CalFresh. Maybe they're targeting low income households?
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KylieRose
I work for a nutrition education program in Southern California and can explain this. "Sun Bucks" is a new Orange County nutrition incentive program that's being piloted in 2025. They're sending these to CalFresh recipients in certain zip codes. The letter G indicates your assigned grocery store group - they're staggering participation to evaluate the program's effectiveness. It's basically extra money for fruits and vegetables, similar to Market Match but for grocery stores. It's legitimate - the county is just terrible at explaining new programs clearly. You'll need to register your EBT card on their portal to activate the benefit.
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Miguel Hernández
•ANOTHER program with another website to register on?? Why can't they just add the extra money to our regular EBT cards automatically? So frustrating how they make everything so complicated. And I bet the website won't even work right for the first month.
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Sasha Ivanov
I saw a similar program in San Diego last year! It's basically like getting extra CalFresh money but only for produce. In our county it was called Fresh Funds and they gave us an extra $40/month to buy fruits and vegetables. You had to shop at certain stores though. It was really helpful for my family since healthy food is so expensive now. Check if there's a website listed on the letter to register - with ours we had to create an account and link our EBT card number.
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Giovanni Rossi
•There is a website! I just missed it the first time. It says we get $50/month extra but only for produce. That's actually pretty amazing. Thanks for the info!
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Liam Murphy
I got this too!!! but mine has letter F not G!!! maybe its for different store groups? im in south OC btw. did anyone actually sign up yet and get the money? i cant figure out how to know which stores i can use it at
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KylieRose
•Yes, the letters indicate different store groups. Group G includes Albertsons, Northgate, and Smart & Final. Group F is Ralphs, Vons, and Cardenas. You'll need to shop at the stores in your assigned group to use the Sun Bucks benefits. The program is designed to track shopping patterns across different grocery chains to see which is most effective for the future statewide rollout.
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Amara Okafor
I've been trying to call Orange County social services about my regular CalFresh benefit issues and can never get through. Had the same problem trying to ask about this Sun Bucks thing - 1 hour on hold then got disconnected! The whole system is a joke. Has anyone had any luck actually talking to a human at the county lately?
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CaptainAwesome
•I was having the same issue but found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person in less than 10 minutes. They call the CalFresh office for you and when they reach someone, they connect you. Saved me hours of waiting on hold. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Their website is claimyr.com - I'm using it from now on whenever I need to talk to someone at the county about my benefits. Way better than sitting on hold all day and getting disconnected.
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Miguel Hernández
This is CLEARLY another way for them to track what we buy with our benefits!!! Notice how they assign you to specific stores?? That's so they can monitor your purchases and probably cut benefits if they don't like what you're buying. I'm tearing up my letter. NO THANKS to the government watching my grocery choices!!
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Sasha Ivanov
•That's not accurate. The store groupings are for program evaluation purposes - they're trying to determine which stores have the best produce selection and prices to make the program permanent. They already can see general category purchases with regular EBT (like how much goes to produce vs other foods) - this program is actually giving you MORE money specifically for healthy foods. It's optional, but it's not a surveillance program.
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Liam Murphy
ok so i just signed up and its actually pretty cool!! u get extra money for fruits and veggies only. i signed up yesterday and they added $50 right away to my account. u just use ur regular ebt card but it knows somehow to use the sun bucks money for produce. im gonna get strawberries later they're so expensive normally
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Aaliyah Jackson
•So u already got the extra $$ on ur card??? When i tried to signup the website kept crashing. Did u have to upload any income documents or did they already have ur info from calfresh?
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Giovanni Rossi
Update: I was able to register on the website. It's orangecounty.gov/sunbucks if anyone else is looking. Had to enter my EBT card number and some basic info, but it was pretty easy. Thanks everyone for your help clearing this up! I'm actually excited about this program now - $50 extra for fruits and vegetables will make a big difference for my kids.
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KylieRose
•Glad you got it figured out! One important thing to note: you need to spend the Sun Bucks balance each month - it doesn't roll over like regular CalFresh benefits. The program runs through October 2025 as a pilot, and then they'll decide if it becomes permanent. Make sure to keep your receipts for the first few shopping trips in case there are any issues with the system recognizing eligible items.
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Lydia Bailey
Just wanted to add that I also got one of these letters in North OC and was totally confused at first! Mine has letter H on it - so there must be even more store groups than just F and G. The website worked fine for me this morning and I was able to register pretty easily. One thing I noticed is that they ask you to verify your phone number during signup, probably so they can send you updates about the program. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here - it's so much more helpful than trying to get through to the county office!
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