Missing CalFresh regional supplement payment - who to contact?

yea u gotta call the county. had the same thing happen back in february, they forgot to code me for the bay area zip code or something like that. took like 4 calls to get someone who knew what i was talking about but they fixed it and gave me backpay for the missed months

Thanks for confirming! Did you just call the regular CalFresh number for your county? I tried calling twice last week but kept getting disconnected after 45+ minutes on hold. This is so frustrating.

The regional cost-of-living supplement for CalFresh in high-cost areas like the Bay Area is relatively new (started January 2025), so there are definitely some implementation issues happening. Yes, you need to contact your specific county office, not the general EBT customer service line. They need to update your case record with the regional code.\n\nBring proof of your address when you go in person, or have it ready to email/upload if you call. The supplement should be around $110 for a single person household and increases with household size. They should retroactively apply it back to January (or your application date if later).

Wait I live in Sacramento County and haven't heard anything about this regional supplement. Is this just for Bay Area or do other higher cost counties get it too??

Sacramento County is considered Tier 2 for the regional supplement, so you should get approximately $65-75 extra per month depending on your household size. The highest amount (Tier 1) is for Bay Area counties, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Tier 3 is for Orange, Ventura, and a few others. Definitely call your county office to check if you should be receiving it.

I'm in Alameda County and ran into this EXACT problem!!!!! The system didn't automatically flag my case for the regional supplement even though I've lived at the same address for 3 years. I tried calling for TWO WEEKS and kept getting disconnected or told

Does that actually work? Ive seen it mentioned before but seems sketchy to have a service that magically gets you through the phone lines...

It legitimately worked for me. They basically just keep calling for you and navigate the phone tree, then call you when they get a human. Way better than me trying to sit on hold for hours or getting disconnected repeatedly!

There's actually a specific form you need to request when you call your county office: it's called the

This is incredibly helpful! I had no idea there was a specific form. I'll definitely ask for the CF-RCA form by name when I call. I appreciate you providing the actual supplement amounts too - that helps me know exactly what I should be getting.

Had this EXACT problem! So frustrating. County office kept saying I wasn't coded correctly but nobody would fix it. I ended up driving to the office and waiting 3 hours but finally got it sorted out. Make sure you bring proof of address if you go in person. The regional supplement made a HUGE difference for me - it's an extra $125/month that I desperately needed with these crazy Bay Area prices.\n\nBTW they should backdate it to January 2025 when the program started (or when you were approved if that was later). Don't let them tell you otherwise!

Did you need to bring anything specific for proof of address besides like a bill or something? I can't find my lease agreement right now but have utility bills.

Utility bills worked for me! I brought my PG&E bill and that was enough. Just make sure it has your name and current address on it.

wait is this regional supplement diffrent from the regular calfresh amout?? i live in contra costa county and get $293 a month for just me. should i be getting more???

Yes, the regional supplement is additional money on top of your regular CalFresh amount. In Contra Costa (which is Tier 1), a single person should receive around $110 extra per month. So if your base amount is $293, you should be getting approximately $403 total. Definitely call your county office to check on this!

btw they might tell u that u dont qualify based on ur income but thats BS. if u qualify for regular calfresh u automatically qualify for the regional thing. i had a worker try to tell me i made too much for the supplement but my friend who works for the county said thats wrong

This is correct. The regional supplement applies to ALL CalFresh recipients in qualifying counties, regardless of income level (as long as you qualify for at least the minimum CalFresh benefit). Some workers are incorrectly confusing this with the old COVID emergency allotments that had different rules.

UPDATE: Finally got through to my county office! The worker confirmed I should be getting the Tier 1 supplement of $110/month since I'm a single-person household in San Francisco. She said there was no flag on my case for the regional supplement. She's correcting it and processing backpay for January-March (about $330). Should see it on my EBT card within 3-5 business days.\n\nThanks everyone for your help! I'll update again when I actually see the money on my card.

That's fantastic! So glad you got it resolved. The backpay will be really helpful I'm sure. The exact same thing happened to me and many others... they really need to fix their system so it automatically identifies eligible households!