Is Riverside County getting extra CalFresh benefits tonight (February 2025)?

Hi there, I just called the Riverside County DPSS office about this today actually (took forever to get through). Unfortunately, there are NO emergency allotments anymore. Those were pandemic benefits that ended in March 2023. Regular issuance schedules are the only benefits currently being distributed for February 2025. Your neighbor probably confused it with the annual CalFresh COLA (cost of living adjustment) that happened last October.

The emergency allotments ended YEARS ago!! They're not coming back unless there's some new disaster declaration. Don't believe random rumors - people keep spreading this false hope every few months and it's cruel to families struggling. The ONLY extra money right now is if you're part of the SNAP Employment & Training program where they give transportation reimbursements. Regular benefits are all that exist now.

i got my regular benefits on the 14th thats it no extras in riverside that i heard of but some months they do random adjustments for people who had income changes so maybe thats what ur neighbor means??

If you need to confirm exactly what benefits you're getting, I suggest using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a Riverside DPSS worker quickly. It helped me skip that terrible phone queue when I had benefit questions last month. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 - basically connects you to a worker without the 2-hour wait. They can check your specific account and tell you if any additional benefits are scheduled.

Emergency allotments are gone BUT what might be happening is the quarterly adjustment for the utility allowance that affects some households. February is when the seasonal utility allowance changes for certain households using the SUA or LUA deductions. So some people DO see small benefit increases this month if they're in households where heating costs changed significantly. Check your last SAR7 to see if you get either SUA (Standard Utility Allowance) or LUA (Limited Utility Allowance) deductions. If your worker calculated a change, it might show up as a separate deposit.

Just to add some clarity here: CalFresh has returned to normal operations with no emergency supplements currently authorized for February 2025 in any California county. However, there are three legitimate ways you might see adjustments to your benefits this month: 1. Utility Allowance Adjustment (as someone mentioned) 2. Retroactive corrections if your income was previously calculated incorrectly 3. Restoration of benefits if you had a successful appeal The best way to check is by using the BenefitsCal mobile app or website, which will show any pending deposits to your EBT account, or by calling the EBT customer service line at 877-328-9677 to check your balance and pending deposits.