No 'pending benefits' message when calling EBT card - CalFresh benefits missing for April?

same here!! called 3 times today and nothing about pending benefits. usually tells me by now. last month was fine tho

So it's not just me! Did you call your worker yet? I'm stressing about buying groceries for the week...

Don't panic yet! The EBT system sometimes doesn't update the pending message until closer to the actual deposit date. What day of the month do you normally get your benefits? Also, check if you were due for recertification or a SAR7 recently - missing those deadlines can cause benefits to stop.

I get mine on the 14th, and it ALWAYS shows as pending by the 10th. I did my SAR7 back in February and got confirmation they received it. Nothing about recertification that I know of...

this happened to me in january!!!! absolutely terrifying. turned out it was just a system glitch and the money showed up anyway on my usual day. the lady on the phone said sometimes the pending message doesnt show but the benefits are still coming. still scary tho

That's a little reassuring, thanks! Did you have to do anything or it just showed up on its own?

it just showed up! but i spent 3 days freaking out b4 that lol

This is actually fairly common and usually doesn't indicate a problem. The EBT system sometimes has delays in showing pending deposits, especially if there's maintenance or updates happening. However, it's always good to verify by checking BenefitsCal or calling your county office directly. If you submitted your SAR7 in February and it was for the January-June certification period, you should be fine for April benefits.\n\nThree things to check:\n1. Log into BenefitsCal to see if your case shows as active\n2. Check if you received any Notice of Action recently\n3. Verify the county has your current address

Thanks for the detailed response! I checked BenefitsCal and my case shows active. No notices in the mail either. I'll try to be patient but it's hard when you're counting on that food money!

I work at a community resource center, and we've had several clients mention this same issue this week. I called our county liaison, and they confirmed there was a system update that's affecting the automated pending benefits messages. The actual benefit issuance schedule isn't affected - your benefits should still load on your regular day. If they don't appear by your usual date, then definitely contact your worker immediately.

Oh wow, thank you for checking on this! That makes me feel so much better knowing it's a known issue. I'll wait until my regular date before worrying more.

ugh the county is THE WORST at communicating these things!! would it kill them to send a text or email saying

RIGHT??? like some of us have kids to feed and can't just wait around to see if maybe food stamps will show up?!

Have you tried calling your county CalFresh office directly? I had a similar situation last year and spent TWO DAYS trying to get through their phone system. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get a callback from a real worker. They confirmed my benefits were still processing and showed me how to check on BenefitsCal in the future. Their video demo explains it well: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 - totally worth it for peace of mind rather than stressing until the 14th.

I haven't tried calling yet because I remember being on hold for hours last time I had a question. Thanks for the suggestion - I might try that if the benefits don't show up on the 14th.

My friend said her worker told her they were doing maintanence on the ebt system until april 12th so maybe thats why? She gets her benifits on the 11th so shes freaking out 2

Just to follow up - I checked the state EBT website and there is indeed a notice about system maintenance from April 8-12 that may affect some automated phone services. The maintenance won't affect actual benefit delivery, just some of the informational services. You should still receive your benefits on your regular issuance date.

Thank you for confirming! I wish they'd make these announcements more visible. I'll update the thread on the 14th to let everyone know if mine came through as scheduled.

UPDATE: My benefits loaded normally on the 14th! Thanks everyone for helping me not panic. Seems like it was just the system maintenance after all.

mine too! thx for the update

So glad it worked out!!

This is such helpful information for anyone who might face this issue in the future! I'm bookmarking this thread. It's really reassuring to see how the community came together to help figure out what was happening. The system maintenance explanation makes total sense - wish they would post these notices somewhere more obvious though. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, especially @Omar Hassan for checking with the county liaison!

As someone who's been through this exact same panic, I can totally relate! Just went through my first EBT scare a few months ago when the pending message disappeared. Turns out it was just a system glitch like others mentioned. What really helped me was setting up text alerts through my county's BenefitsCal portal - now I get notifications when benefits are actually deposited instead of relying on that sometimes-unreliable phone message. Might be worth setting up for peace of mind in the future! So glad your benefits came through on schedule!