EBT payment delays in Santa Clara - CalFresh benefits not loaded on promised date

Benefits are usually loaded on the same day each month based on the last digit of your case number (not counting the check digit). So if your case number ends in 3, you get benefits on the 3rd of each month. If it ends in 0, you get them on the 10th. Are you sure the worker told you the 11th specifically and not the 1st?

omg same thing happening to me!!! im in santa clara too and mine was supposed to come today. nothing yet. its the second month for me too.

This EXACT THING happened to me last year!! They told me one date and then NOTHING showed up. I called and called and called and no one picked up. Then THREE DAYS LATER the money just appeared with NO EXPLANATION. The system is completely broken and they don't care at all that people are literally waiting for food money!!!! I hate how they treat us like we don't matter.

There might be a system-wide delay affecting Santa Clara County. A few things to try: 1. Double-check your case status on BenefitsCal.com to make sure nothing has changed with your eligibility 2. Call the EBT customer service line (not the county) at 1-877-328-9677 to verify your balance and last deposit date 3. Sometimes there are processing delays if the 10th/11th falls on a weekend or holiday (though that doesn't apply this month) 4. If you're really in a bind for food immediately, call 211 for emergency food resources In my experience, occasional delays of 1-2 days can happen, especially if there's a system issue. If it goes beyond 3 days, you should definitely escalate at the county office.

I had a similar problem but with medi-cal not calfresh. Turns out they sent me a form i needed to fill out but i never got it in the mail. maybe check if u missed something they wanted?

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to a CalFresh worker? I was having the same issue last month with delayed benefits and was getting nowhere with the regular customer service line. I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that calls the county for you and calls you back when they reach a human. Saved me literally hours of hold time. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 When I finally got through, turns out there was a verification document they needed that I never received notice about. Got it resolved in one call once I actually spoke to someone.

There was a system update scheduled for the 10th-11th that might be causing the delay. I remember seeing a notice about it at the county office last week but didn't pay much attention since my benefits come on the 6th. Maybe that's affecting you guys in Santa Clara?

Just to add some clarification - for new CalFresh recipients, benefits can sometimes be issued on a different schedule for the first 2-3 months before settling into the regular pattern based on your case number. This is especially true if you were approved mid-month. By your third month, you should be on the regular schedule consistently. In Santa Clara County specifically, they've been having some intermittent system issues this year with the BenefitsCal integration. I'd recommend checking your EBT card balance again tomorrow morning, as sometimes the updates happen overnight. If it's still not there, definitely reach out to your county worker. Also, for future planning, you can verify your regular issuance date by looking at your approval notice - it should state your monthly issuance date somewhere on that document.

mine just loaded!!!! check your card maybe yours did too!

Glad to hear your benefits loaded! For future reference, if you ever have a serious delay (more than 3 days past when benefits should have been issued), you can request expedited replacement benefits if you're experiencing a food emergency. Just document everything - when you were told benefits would arrive, any calls you made, etc. Also, now that you know your benefits are tied to your case number's last digit, you can better plan around that date. If you have any questions about your specific issuance schedule, ask your worker to note it clearly in your case file for next time.

This exact same thing happened to my sister in Santa Clara County last month! She was told her benefits would load on the 8th but they didn't show up until the 10th. Turns out there was some kind of system maintenance that caused delays but nobody at the county office mentioned it when she called asking about the date. It's so frustrating because they know people are depending on this money for groceries. I'm glad yours finally loaded! For what it's worth, her benefits have been on time every month since then, so hopefully this was just a one-time glitch with the system update.