Only $120/month CalFresh for family of 8?! How are bigger households supposed to survive?

There's definitely something wrong with your benefit calculation. For a household of 8, the maximum CalFresh allotment in 2025 is around $1,750/month. Even with income, you should be getting more than $120 unless your income is extremely high. Check your Notice of Action to see what income they used in the calculation and what deductions they applied. They might have missed some of your deductions or counted income incorrectly. Make sure all these expenses are documented in your file: - The full rent amount - Utilities (you should qualify for the standard utility allowance) - Medical expenses over $35 for elderly/disabled household members - Dependent care costs Calculation is basically: [Maximum allotment for household size] - [30% of net income after deductions]

the benefit system is RIGGED against big families!!! i have 5 kids and they give us barely enough to last 2 weeks. its like they WANT us to starve. the income limits are stuck in 2010 prices while everything has tripled!!!! i had to take a second job just to cover basics and then they cut my benefits MORE because i was "making too much" 🤬 the whole system is designed to keep us poor

my cousins famly gets like $1,200 for 6 people so something is def wrong with ur case. did u put ur exact income? sometimes ppl estimate and that messes it up. also did u get the interview? they usually ask bout expenses then

I was in the exact same situation last month! Was supposed to get recertified but they slashed our benefits for a family of 6 to just $95 a month. Spent 3 DAYS trying to reach someone at the county and kept getting disconnected. Finally tried Claimyr.com which got me connected to a worker in about 15 minutes (there's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8). The worker reviewed my case right then and found they hadn't applied ANY of my deductions! Got my benefits fixed and even got retroactive benefits for the month they underpaid. Definitely worth checking because it sounds like they made a similar mistake with your deductions.

Based on the information you provided, there definitely appears to be an error in your benefit calculation. For a household of 8 in 2025, with proper deductions applied, you should be receiving significantly more than $120/month unless your household income exceeds about $8,000/month. Here's what I recommend: 1) File for a State Hearing immediately - you only have 90 days from the date on your Notice of Action 2) Simultaneously contact your county worker to request a recalculation based on the missed deductions 3) Bring documentation of all expenses to both the hearing and any meetings 4) Request retroactive benefits for any months you were underpaid Make sure you're using the Semi-Annual Household Status Report (SAR 7) to correctly report ALL qualifying expenses. The form can be confusing about which expenses to list where.

wait i'm confused... are u getting calfresh or calworks? cuz those r different. my sister gets both and the calworks is the cash aid part and calfresh is just for food. maybe ur getting them mixed up?

Just checking back - were you able to contact your county worker about the errors in your deduction calculations? When you do, make sure you specifically ask them to review the following in your file: 1. Shelter costs (should be your full $2800 rent) 2. Utility deduction (should be getting the full standard utility allowance of $533 for 2025) 3. Medical expenses for your mom (if she's elderly or disabled, any medical costs over $35 monthly can be deducted) 4. Childcare costs should be fully deducted With a household of 8 and all these deductions properly applied, your CalFresh benefits should be much closer to the maximum benefit level. Don't let them rush you off the phone until they explain exactly what deductions they applied.

The REAL problem is inflation is out of control but benefits arent keeping up!!! My family's benefits stayed the same while EVERYTHING went up - groceries, gas, rent, EVERYTHING!!! But try telling that to your worker and they just quote "policy" at you 😤 I'm sick of being treated like we're trying to game the system when we're just trying to FEED OUR KIDS

i tried Claimyr yesterday after seeing it mentioned here and it actually worked! after 2 weeks of trying to reach my worker i got through in like 20 minutes and got my case fixed. definitely worth checking out if ur getting nowhere with the regular phone number

UPDATE: I just saw your comment about your mom being 67 and having a disability. This is very important! Make absolutely sure her medical expenses are being counted. For elderly or disabled household members, medical expenses over $35 per month are deductible for CalFresh purposes. With $495/month in medical costs, that's a deduction of $460 from your countable income. Also, for a family your size, missing the housing costs is a huge error. The difference between $900 and $2800 in housing costs could easily explain why your benefits are so low. When you do reach someone, ask them to recalculate your benefits with the correct expenses and request retroactive benefits for any months you received the incorrect amount.