P-EBT cards FINALLY arriving in mailboxes! Just got my kid's 2025 benefits
After months of waiting, my son (J.D.) just got his 2025 P-EBT card in today's mail! I almost threw it out thinking it was junk mail - the envelope looks really plain. Has anyone else received theirs recently? I was starting to worry since his school said they submitted everything back in November. The card has $1,345 on it according to the paperwork. Anyone know if this is supposed to be a one-time payment or will there be monthly additions? This is our first time with P-EBT so I'm totally confused about how it works compared to regular CalFresh (which we don't qualify for due to our income being just over the limit).
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Sydney Torres
Congrats on receiving the P-EBT card! The $1,345 is likely the retroactive payment for the months they've been delayed in sending them out. My understanding is that the 2025 P-EBT program provides periodic payments throughout the school year, not monthly like regular CalFresh. The amounts are based on your child's eligibility for free/reduced school meals and school attendance records. Make sure to activate the card and set a PIN before using it. Also, keep the card even after spending the current balance since future payments will be automatically loaded onto the same card.
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Alfredo Lugo
•Thank you! We activated it right away. That makes sense about the retroactive payment. Do you happen to know how often they load the card throughout the school year? And should I get some kind of notification when that happens or do I just need to keep checking the balance?
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
got ours last week two!!!!! but only $980 for my 2 kids. anybody know why the ammounts are different??? we qualify for reduced lunch not free if that matters
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Caleb Bell
•Yes, the amount varies based on whether your children qualify for free lunch (higher amount) or reduced-price lunch (lower amount). It also depends on how many school days were included in this payment period. If your kids have had significant absences, that can reduce the benefit too, since P-EBT is designed to replace meals they would have received at school.
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Danielle Campbell
BE CAREFUL with those P-EBT cards!!! My daughter's got stolen right out of our mailbox last year and by the time we realized it was coming, someone had already spent all $1,100!! The P-EBT customer service was USELESS - had us on hold for HOURS and then said they couldn't help. Never got that money back. They should really send these with tracking or something!
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Rhett Bowman
•That's terrible! For anyone reading this, once you get your P-EBT card, activate it IMMEDIATELY and change the PIN. The default PIN is often just the mail date or something similarly easy to guess. Also, you can request balance notifications through text if you call the number on the back of the card.
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Danielle Campbell
•Exactly!!! I wish someone had told us this before. And the worst part was trying to reach someone at the P-EBT helpline - complete nightmare that took days of calling.
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Abigail Patel
I'm still waiting for my kid's card. Was there any notice before it arrived or did it just show up? Getting worried since my neighbor got hers yesterday too.
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Alfredo Lugo
•No notice at all - it just appeared in the mail. The envelope is really plain looking too, almost like junk mail. It just says "Official Business" or something similar. I would give it another week before worrying too much, seems like they're sending them out in batches.
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Rhett Bowman
If anyone is having trouble reaching someone about P-EBT issues, I recently discovered a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to a real person. I was trying for days to reach someone about my daughter's missing P-EBT card. With Claimyr (claimyr.com), they actually wait on hold for you and call you back when a real person answers. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•does this actually work?? ive been trying 2 reach someone about why my kids got different amounts and keep getting disconnect after 30+ mins on hold
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Rhett Bowman
•Yes, it worked for me! Instead of me having to wait on hold, they did it for me and called when they got a person. Much easier than trying to stay on the line while dealing with kids and work.
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Daniel White
Be careful about spending it all at once! Remember these are supposed to help throughout the school year. My sister blew through the whole P-EBT amount in two grocery trips and then had nothing left for months. Try to budget it if you can.
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Alfredo Lugo
•Good point! I was thinking about using some of it to stock up on staples, but I'll definitely try to stretch it out. I'm going to sit down and figure out how to budget it properly. Does anyone know if there's an app or something where I can track the card balance easily?
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Abigail Patel
I called my kids school today and they said not all P-EBT cards are being sent at the same time. Apparently they're rolling them out over a 4-6 week period and prioritizing by school district. so if u haven't gotten yours yet, that might be why
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Caleb Bell
•This is correct. The California Department of Social Services has stated they're distributing the 2025 P-EBT cards in phases. If you had P-EBT previously, the new benefits should be loaded onto your existing card. If this is your first time, new cards are being mailed on a rolling basis. You can check your status at the BenefitsCal portal or by calling the P-EBT helpline at 877-328-9677, though wait times are extremely long right now.
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Sydney Torres
Just a quick tip for everyone new to P-EBT: these benefits work a lot like CalFresh but have a few key differences: 1) P-EBT benefits last for 9 months from the issue date before they expire (CalFresh is 12 months) 2) You can use P-EBT at the same stores that accept CalFresh/EBT 3) P-EBT is specifically for households with children who would normally receive free/reduced school meals 4) Unlike regular CalFresh, you don't need to submit any SAR7 reports or recertification for P-EBT 5) P-EBT doesn't count against public charge rules for immigration Hope this helps!
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Alfredo Lugo
•This is so helpful! I had no idea the benefits expired after 9 months - definitely good to know. And I was worried we might need to do some kind of reporting like with other benefits. Huge relief that we don't have to deal with that paperwork!
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