Is CalFresh giving extra benefits for June 2025? Heard rumors about emergency allotments returning
Just heard from my neighbor that CalFresh might be giving extra benefits this month (June) but I can't find any info online. She swore that her caseworker mentioned something about temporary emergency allotments coming back due to inflation or something??? My regular benefits barely last 2 weeks with food prices these days. Anyone know if this is actually happening or just another rumor? My EBT balance is super low and I need to plan my grocery shopping!
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Liam Murphy
No, there are no extra emergency allotments scheduled for June 2025. Those ended back in March 2023 when the federal public health emergency ended. Your neighbor probably misunderstood something her caseworker said. What might be happening is the annual cost-of-living adjustment that usually happens in October, but that's not 'extra' benefits - it's just the regular inflation adjustment to the standard benefit amounts.
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Sasha Ivanov
•Ugh really?? That's so disappointing. I was hoping it was true. So there's nothing extra coming at all? Food is so expensive now compared to last year.
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Amara Okafor
The system is SO BROKEN!!! They know inflation is killing us but they won't do anything about it. My family of 4 gets $750 and it's gone in 2.5 weeks even with careful shopping. Meanwhile they expect us to just magically make food appear the rest of the month?? The emergency allotments during COVID were the ONLY time CalFresh actually provided enough food for the whole month. But nooo, can't have poor people actually eating properly for too long! 😡
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CaptainAwesome
•i feel u my benefits never last whole month either. have u tried food banks? the one by my house gives pretty good stuff on tuesdays
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Yuki Tanaka
My cousin works for the county and she said theres gonna be a one-time summer benefit supplement for households with kids under 18. Something about replacing school meals during summer break. Not sure if its for everyone tho
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Esmeralda Gómez
•Your cousin is probably referring to the Summer EBT program, which is separate from regular CalFresh. It provides about $120 per eligible child for summer food benefits, but you need to have school-age children who qualify for free or reduced lunch during the school year. It's not an increase to regular CalFresh benefits and not everyone qualifies. You can check eligibility at BenefitsCal.com or by calling your county office.
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Klaus Schmidt
wait are we talking about regular calfresh or the cash assistance? because those are differnt things i think. i get both and sometimes the amounts change on different months and i never understand why lol
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Liam Murphy
•You're right that they're different programs. CalFresh is specifically for food and can only be used to buy groceries. CalWORKs provides cash assistance. The original question was about extra CalFresh (food) benefits. The amounts can fluctuate if your reported income changes or if household circumstances change, but there are no special extra payments scheduled for June 2025.
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Aisha Patel
Have you checked if you're getting the maximum benefit amount for your household size? When I first applied, they didn't calculate my housing costs correctly, and I was getting way less than I should have. After I called and got it fixed, my benefits increased by $150/month. It might be worth calling your county office to review your case - especially if your rent increased recently or you have new medical expenses.
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Sasha Ivanov
•That's a good point. My rent did go up in April but I haven't reported it yet. Do you think that could actually INCREASE my benefits? I thought reporting higher income from my landlord would reduce them?
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Aisha Patel
•Higher rent can actually increase your benefits! CalFresh uses something called the 'excess shelter deduction' - basically if your housing costs are more than half of your net income, you can get additional deductions which could mean more benefits. Definitely report the rent increase on your next SAR7 or call your worker to update it sooner. When I needed to call about my rent issue, I used Claimyr.com to avoid the crazy phone wait times - they got me connected to a real person in minutes instead of waiting hours. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 if you want to see how it works.
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Yuki Tanaka
My benefits just arrived today and its the same amount as always so no extras for me I guess
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Sasha Ivanov
•Mine came today too. Same amount as usual. Guess that confirms it was just a rumor 😕
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Esmeralda Gómez
To summarize the correct information for anyone finding this thread later: 1. There are NO emergency allotment supplements for June 2025 or any future month planned at this time. Those ended permanently in March 2023. 2. The annual cost-of-living adjustment typically happens in October, not June. 3. Summer EBT is available for households with school-age children who qualify for free/reduced lunch programs. 4. If your circumstances have changed (increased rent, utilities, childcare costs, medical expenses for seniors/disabled), report these changes as they might increase your regular benefit amount. 5. Always check BenefitsCal.com for official announcements about CalFresh changes rather than relying on rumors.
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Sasha Ivanov
•Thank you for the clear explanation! I'm going to call about my rent increase tomorrow. Also going to look into the Summer EBT since my kids qualify for free lunch at school. Hoping that helps stretch our food budget a bit further!
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