How long for CalFresh approval in San Bernardino County? Getting desperate!

in my experience san bernardino is SUPER backed up right now!!!!! i applied in december and didnt hear ANYTHING for 23 days. then got a paper letter in the mail saying i was approved. the county offices are a NIGHTMARE right now, my neighbor said they're short staffed by like 40% and have huge backlogs. dont worry about the 30 day thing tho, they HAVE to make a decision by then legally. if u dont hear by the 30 day mark call the main office and raise hell!

Thank you for this! Good to know I'm not alone in the waiting game. Did you get your EBT card separately from the approval letter or together? I'm down to rice and beans at this point...

I applied in San Bernardino County last October and received my approval after 18 days. They sent the approval letter by mail, and my EBT card arrived separately about 4 days later. The 30-day processing requirement is federal law - counties must make an eligibility determination within 30 days of your application date. If you're in an emergency situation (less than $150 monthly income, resources under $100, or at risk of homelessness), you might qualify for expedited services which should be processed within 3 calendar days.\n\nIf you applied online through BenefitsCal, you can check your application status there. Otherwise, you'll need to keep trying the county office. Unfortunately, their phone system is notoriously difficult to navigate.

I did apply through BenefitsCal! I didn't realize I could check my status there - thank you for that tip. I'll try logging back in. I don't think I qualify for expedited service since I'm still employed (just not making enough to cover everything). Hopefully I'll hear something this week.

took me like 25 days in san bernardino and that was back in 2024 when things werent as bad as now. u should get a letter in the mail but sometimes they email too if u gave them ur email. the waiting is the worst part tbh

It really is the worst! I check my mailbox like 3 times a day hoping for something. I did provide my email so maybe I'll get something there. Thanks for sharing your experience!

I've helped several clients navigate CalFresh applications in San Bernardino County recently. While they're required to make a determination within 30 days, current processing times are averaging 21-26 days. If you provided income verification with your initial application, that can speed things up. If not, they'll send a verification request which adds time.\n\nSan Bernardino specifically sends approval/denial notifications through mail, and EBT cards come separately. If you're in urgent need, you can try visiting a local office in person - sometimes they can check your status immediately and expedite if needed.\n\nOne thing that might help - if you tried calling using the Claimyr service (claimyr.com), they can get you through the phone maze and connected to an actual worker without the typical wait and disconnections. I've seen clients have success with it, and they have a demo video here: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Much better than calling directly.

Thank you for all this information! I did submit my last 3 pay stubs with my application, so hopefully that helps. I might try visiting in person if I don't hear anything by the end of this week. I'll check out that Claimyr service too - honestly would pay anything at this point to actually speak to a human being about my application.

mine took exactly 4 weeks so right at that 30 day limit. san bernardino is one of the slower counties from what i hear. just hang in there, they'll get to you eventually. the good news is once approved they'll backdate your benefits to when you applied!

That's good to know about the backdating! I didn't realize they do that. Makes the waiting slightly less stressful knowing I won't lose out on benefits for these weeks.

I know waiting is SO STRESSFUL especially when you're worried about food! I'm also in San Bernardino and applied last year. It took them 19 days to process my application, then another week for the EBT card to arrive. The annoying thing is that different workers told me different things about how long it would take.\n\nWhile you're waiting, have you looked into local food banks? They can help bridge the gap. The one at Community Action Partnership helped me when I was in your situation. No judgment at all, and they gave me enough to get by until my benefits came through.\n\nHang in there!!! ❤️

Thank you so much for the suggestion! I hadn't thought about food banks. I'll look up the Community Action Partnership one. This community has been so helpful - makes me feel less alone in the process.

did u do the interview part yet? they wont approve until u do the phone interview and sometimes they dont call when theyre supposed to and u have to chase them down. happened to my sister and she thought she was just waiting but actually they were waiting on her!?

Yes, I did the interview the same day I applied! The worker said everything looked good and that I should hear back

Just to follow up on this - since you completed the interview already and provided verification documents, you should be in the final determination phase. San Bernardino County's official average processing time this quarter is 22 days according to their website. \n\nOne thing to check: if you created a BenefitsCal account, log in and make sure there aren't any \

Just logged into BenefitsCal and you were right - there was a task asking for my rental agreement! It was added 3 days ago and I had no idea. Uploading it right now. THANK YOU for this suggestion, seriously might have saved my application from being delayed even longer.