Mystery $20 cash benefit appeared once on my EBT then disappeared - what CalFresh program was this?

same thing happened to me!! got $20 in feb then nothing else. didnt question it cuz free money lol but now im wondering

I think I know what you're talking about! Was it called a "transitional benefit" or something? My cousin mentioned getting something similar but I'm not sure if it's the same program. Did the letter mention anything about compensation for previous benefit reductions?

Most likely what you received was a Transitional Nutrition Benefit (TNB) payment. It's NOT a regular monthly benefit - it was designed as a one-time supplemental payment for certain CalFresh households who met specific criteria related to previous benefit adjustments. The communication about this was terrible though - many people thought it would continue monthly. The $20 cash balance can be used for anything (unlike regular CalFresh which is food-only). If you want to confirm whether this is what you received, you should ask specifically about TNB when you contact your county office.

After trying to call the CalFresh office for two days and getting disconnected multiple times, I finally got through using Claimyr (claimyr.com). It connects you directly to a live worker instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 The worker confirmed it was a Transitional Nutrition Benefit (TNB) that was a one-time payment for households affected by certain benefit changes. Some people got it multiple months depending on their situation, but most only received it once. The notices were definitely confusing because they made it sound ongoing.

THE SYSTEM IS SO CONFUSING!!! They never explain ANYTHING clearly and then expect us to understand all their weird program rules and random payments appearing and disappearing! I got something similar last year but it was $35 not $20 and I think it had something to do with pandemic emergency allotments ending?? EVERY COUNTY TELLS YOU SOMETHING DIFFERENT TOO!!!!

wait so is this different from the regular calfresh food stamps? i get the food money every month but this cash thing was separate on my ebt card

This whole situation reminds me of when they suddenly sent me that P-EBT card during COVID without any clear explanation. I didn't even know what it was for weeks and almost threw it away thinking it was junk mail! They really need to improve how they communicate about these special benefits. Is there a website where they post announcements about these kinds of temporary programs?

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! Now I understand it was a one-time Transitional Nutrition Benefit (TNB) payment. I wish they had made that clearer in the notice - I kept checking my EBT balance every month expecting another $20. At least now I know not to expect it anymore. For anyone else confused by CalFresh communications, it sounds like the clearest way to get answers is to ask specifically about the program by name (like "TNB" in this case) when you call the county office.

I'm glad this thread cleared things up! I was in the same boat - got that mysterious $20 in February and kept wondering where the rest went. The lack of clear communication from the county is so frustrating. It's crazy that we have to piece together information from each other instead of getting straightforward explanations from the agencies themselves. Has anyone figured out what the specific criteria were for getting the TNB? I'm curious if there's a pattern to who received it and who didn't.

This is exactly what happened to me too! Got the $20 in February and kept waiting for it to show up again. It's so frustrating how they send these vague notices without explaining it's a one-time thing. I actually called three different times and got three different explanations from county workers - one said it was an "adjustment payment," another called it a "supplement benefit," and the third one had never heard of it at all. The inconsistency is maddening! At least now I know it was the TNB and I can stop checking my balance every month expecting it to appear again.

This whole thread has been a lifesaver! I had the exact same experience - got that mysterious $20 in February and spent months wondering if my case was broken or something. The notice I received was so confusing that I actually thought it might be a scam at first. What really bothers me is that this seems to happen with every special benefit program - remember how confusing the pandemic food benefit increases were? And don't even get me started on how they handled the end of emergency allotments. It's like they deliberately make these communications as vague as possible. I'm definitely going to try that Claimyr service next time I need to call. Has anyone had success using it for other CalFresh questions, or does it only work well for certain types of issues?

This thread has been so helpful! I'm relatively new to CalFresh and got that same $20 cash benefit in February. Like everyone else, I kept expecting it to show up again each month and was getting worried something was wrong with my case. The communication around these special programs is honestly terrible - they send these official-looking notices that are so vague you can't tell if it's a one-time thing or ongoing. I actually kept the letter this time (learned my lesson from previous confusing notices) and it definitely doesn't clearly state it was a one-time Transitional Nutrition Benefit. It's crazy that we have to come to community forums to figure out what our own benefits mean! At least now I know to stop checking my EBT balance expecting that $20 to magically reappear. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know I wasn't the only one confused by this whole situation.

I'm new to this community but wow, reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief! I got that same mysterious $20 cash benefit in February and have been so confused about it ever since. Like so many others here, I kept expecting it to show up again each month and was starting to worry that something was wrong with my case. The notice I received was incredibly vague - it mentioned something about a "supplemental benefit" but gave no indication it was a one-time payment. I actually called my county office twice about it and got two completely different explanations that didn't really clear anything up. It's so frustrating that we have to piece together information from community forums just to understand our own benefits! Thank you everyone for explaining that this was the Transitional Nutrition Benefit (TNB) program. At least now I know to stop checking my EBT balance every month waiting for that $20 to magically appear again. The lack of clear communication from CalFresh about these special programs is honestly mind-boggling.

I'm brand new to this community and CalFresh in general, but this thread has been incredibly helpful! I also received that mysterious $20 cash benefit in February and had no idea what it was. The notice I got was so confusing - it used a lot of bureaucratic language but didn't clearly explain it was a one-time payment from the Transitional Nutrition Benefit program. I've been checking my EBT card every month since then wondering why it never came back. It's really frustrating as a newcomer to the system that these communications are so unclear. I actually thought maybe I had done something wrong or my case was messed up somehow. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me realize this was a widespread communication failure, not just my confusion as a new recipient. Thanks to everyone who figured out this was the TNB program - now I can stop obsessively checking my balance expecting that $20 to reappear! It's eye-opening how much we have to rely on community knowledge to understand our own benefits.

I'm completely new to both this community and CalFresh, but this thread has been a lifesaver! I got that exact same mysterious $20 cash benefit in February and have been so confused about it ever since. Like everyone else here, I kept expecting it to show up again each month and was starting to think something was wrong with my application or that I had misunderstood something major about how the program works. The notice they sent was so vague and full of government jargon - it mentioned something about a "benefit adjustment" but gave absolutely no indication it was a one-time payment. As someone brand new to navigating government assistance, I had no idea what criteria I even met to receive it or why it suddenly stopped. I actually spent hours on their website trying to find information about ongoing cash supplements, thinking I was missing out on a regular benefit I was entitled to. Thank you so much to everyone who figured out this was the Transitional Nutrition Benefit (TNB) program! Now I can finally stop obsessively checking my EBT balance every month waiting for that $20 to magically reappear. It's honestly pretty shocking that newcomers like me have to rely on community forums to decode what our own government benefits mean. The communication around these special programs really needs major improvement!

I got 20 in September and my surprise again in October .why I don't kno I thought only once a year you get 20 for God kno what .hopefully they don't say later you owe that money .we made mistakes .

I'm new to this community and CalFresh, and I'm so relieved to find this thread! I also got that mysterious $20 cash benefit back in February and have been completely baffled by it ever since. Like so many others here, I kept checking my EBT balance every month expecting it to show up again and was starting to worry that my case was somehow broken or that I had missed something important in my application. The notice they sent was incredibly confusing - it used all this official government language but somehow failed to mention the most crucial detail: that it was a ONE-TIME payment! As a newcomer to the system, I had no idea what the Transitional Nutrition Benefit even was or what criteria I met to receive it. I actually called my county office twice about it and got completely different explanations each time, which just added to my confusion. This thread has been such an eye-opener about how poorly these special programs are communicated. It's honestly mind-blowing that we have to come to community forums to decode what our own government benefits mean! Thank you to everyone who figured out this was the TNB program - now I can finally stop obsessively checking my balance waiting for that $20 to magically reappear. The shared knowledge here has been more helpful than any official communication I've received.

I'm brand new to this community and just started receiving CalFresh benefits a few months ago. This thread has been absolutely incredible - I had the exact same experience with that mysterious $20 showing up in February! As a complete newcomer to the system, I was so confused and thought maybe I had accidentally qualified for some ongoing cash assistance program I didn't know about. The notice was so poorly written that I actually googled "CalFresh cash benefits" for hours trying to figure out what I was supposed to be getting regularly. When it didn't show up in March, I was convinced I had somehow messed up my case or missed a required form. It's honestly shocking that they can send out these official government notices without clearly stating it's a ONE-TIME payment from the Transitional Nutrition Benefit program. Thank you so much to everyone who solved this mystery! This community has been more helpful than any official resource I've found. It's pretty sad that newcomers like me have to crowdsource information just to understand our own benefits, but I'm grateful to have found such a knowledgeable group of people willing to share their experiences.

I'm completely new to this community and CalFresh - just got approved last month! This thread has been such a relief to find because I was starting to think I was going crazy. I also got that mysterious $20 cash benefit in February and have been checking my EBT balance religiously every month since then wondering where it went. As a total newcomer to the system, that notice was absolutely incomprehensible. It was full of government speak but somehow managed to leave out the most important detail - that it was a ONE-TIME payment! I actually thought I had qualified for some kind of ongoing cash assistance program and was worried I'd lose it if I didn't understand the requirements properly. Thank you everyone for figuring out this was the Transitional Nutrition Benefit (TNB) program. It's honestly pretty eye-opening as a new CalFresh recipient to see how poor the communication is around these special programs. The fact that we all had to come together as a community to decode what our own government benefits mean is both helpful and deeply concerning. At least now I can stop obsessively checking my balance waiting for that $20 to magically reappear!