Still waiting for P-EBT for school-aged kids over 6 - anyone received theirs yet?

I got my P-EBT for my 7 and 9 year old last Thursday. They're doing it in batches based on last name, not age. The issuance schedule on the CDSS website shows A-G was first week, H-M second week, and N-Z is this week. Check your last name group and see if yours is this week? They said all cards should be loaded by the end of June.

Omg THANK YOU! Our last name starts with W so I guess that explains it. I totally missed that part of the schedule. Feeling much better now, hopefully we'll see it by Friday then!

none of my kids got it yet either (i have 4 kids, ages 7-15) and when i called the p-ebt hotline it just said \

I've had success using Claimyr to get through to CalFresh and P-EBT workers - it's a service that waits on hold for you and calls you back when a real person is on the line. Saved me hours of frustration with the P-EBT issuance last year. You can check out how it works at claimyr.com or see their video demo at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. They called me back in about 45 minutes when the regular wait was over 3 hours.

does it actually work?? never heard of it but im desperate at this point, gonna check it out

To clarify some misinformation - P-EBT benefits for 2025 are NOT related to CalFresh, they're completely separate programs. P-EBT is run by CDSS in partnership with CDE for children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. The current distribution is for Summer P-EBT 2025, not regular monthly benefits. \n\nThe correct issuance schedule is:\nWeek 1 (May 1-7): Last names A-G\nWeek 2 (May 8-14): Last names H-M\nWeek 3 (May 15-21): Last names N-Z\n\nIf you don't receive benefits by May 28th, THEN you should call the P-EBT hotline at 877-328-9677. Just be aware they're extremely backlogged right now.

Wait so P-EBT isn't part of CalFresh?? I'm so confused because I thought they were connected. My kids get free school lunch but we don't get CalFresh. Does that mean my kids still qualify for P-EBT? Nobody ever explained this clearly!

Just want to add - make sure the address on your P-EBT account is current! My daughter didn't get her P-EBT because we moved and I didn't update the school records until mid-April. They told me they'd process a new card but it will take an additional 4-6 weeks. Also, if your kids are newly eligible for free/reduced meals since January 2025, you might be in a later distribution group. The May schedule is only for previously eligible students.

Thanks for the info! We haven't moved and they've been eligible since the beginning of the school year, so hopefully we're good. I'm just going to wait until our alphabetical group's time based on what others have said.

same boat here! waiting on p-ebt for my 3 kiddos. the whole system is so frustrating like why cant they just put the money on the card all at once for everyone?? i dont understand why it takes 3+ weeks to distribute everyones benefits. plus the p-ebt amount went down from last year which sucks cause groceries are EXPENSIVE now

One more important note - P-EBT Summer 2025 benefits are $48 per eligible child per summer month (June/July). This is different from the school year P-EBT which was calculated differently. If your children qualified for free/reduced meals for at least one day in the 2024-2025 school year, they should receive the full summer benefit.\n\nAlso, make sure you're checking the correct card. P-EBT cards are white with a stylized family image, not the golden

Yes, we're definitely checking the right card - the white P-EBT one. And we qualified all year so should get the full amount. $48 per kid per month isn't much considering food prices, but anything helps with 3 growing kids who eat constantly during summer!

This literally happens every year with p-ebt!! they say benefits are coming and then ppl wait MONTHS sometimes. last year my neighbor didnt get her kids p-ebt until september...for SUMMER benefits lol. the whole system is broken. and good luck calling them, youll literally waste your whole day on hold and probably get disconnected. theyve been \

Just saw on the CDSS website that they're experiencing delays for families with multiple children because they're having to manually review some cases. If you have more than 2 kids, that might be why yours is taking longer. The announcement was posted yesterday.

Oh! That might explain it then. I have 3 kids. Where did you see this announcement? I've been checking but must have missed it. Hopefully that means they're still coming and not denied.

Has anyone received a letter about P-EBT before the money shows up? I got a letter last week saying my kids would receive benefits but nothing on the card yet. Is this normal? I'm confused about the whole process honestly.

Yes, that's the normal process. You typically get a notice about a week before the benefits are loaded. If you got a letter, you should see benefits very soon - likely by the end of this week based on the alphabetical schedule others mentioned.

We haven't gotten ANY letter yet... starting to worry again 😕

Don't worry too much about not getting a letter yet! I'm in the same boat - last name starts with S and I have 2 kids (ages 9 and 11) who qualify for free lunch. No letter or benefits yet but based on what everyone's saying about the N-Z group being this week, we should hopefully see something soon. I called my kids' school yesterday and they confirmed both my children are still listed as eligible for free meals in their system, so at least I know we should be getting it. The waiting is definitely stressful though, especially when you see other families already getting theirs!