What letter is CalFresh using for P-EBT distribution in 2025?

i got mine last week and we're 'J' so they should be getting to M pretty soon. but i heard they're doing it by county first, then alphabetical??? idk the whole thing is confusing af

Thanks! Do you know if the county thing is new for 2025? Last year I swear it was just alphabetical. Did they send you any notification before the card arrived?

P-EBT is actually not being distributed alphabetically this year. The 2025 P-EBT benefits are being distributed based on your school district's submission date to the state system. Each county processes their school districts in batches, and those batches are then processed by the state. \n\nAs for eligibility, P-EBT is still connected to free/reduced lunch eligibility, which can come from direct certification through CalFresh, but also through income applications submitted to schools. \n\nYou should have received a notice about 7-10 days before your card arrives. If you haven't received anything and you believe you're eligible, I'd recommend calling the P-EBT hotline at 877-328-9677, but be prepared for a long wait.

Omg thank you for explaining! So our county could be way behind others regardless of last name? No wonder the info is so confusing. I'll try calling that number tomorrow.

They're NOT doing alphabetical this year. My last name starts with D and I still haven't gotten anything, but my sister's kids (last name W from a different district) got theirs 2 weeks ago. It's all about when your school district submitted the info!!!!

This makes more sense now - our district is always behind on everything. Did your sister get any notification before the card came?

I work with families navigating nutrition benefits, and there's a lot of misunderstanding about the 2025 P-EBT distribution. Here's accurate information:\n\n1. Distribution is NOT alphabetical. It's based on when your school district submitted verified eligibility data to the state system.\n\n2. You should receive a notification letter approximately 7-10 days before card arrival.\n\n3. P-EBT eligibility is connected to free/reduced meal eligibility, which can come through direct certification (CalFresh, CalWORKs, etc.) OR through income qualification at your school.\n\n4. If you believe you're eligible but haven't received information, first check with your school to verify your child is listed as eligible for free/reduced meals.\n\n5. Then try the P-EBT hotline, but wait times can be 2+ hours currently.

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'll check with our school tomorrow to make sure they have us listed correctly for free lunch. Our kids definitely qualify through the income guidelines even though we're not on CalFresh.

I waited 3 HOURS on that stupid P-EBT hotline yesterday and then got disconnected right when someone finally answered!!!! This system is completely broken. Has anyone actually gotten through to a real person??

Same thing happened to me! So frustrating. I've tried calling five different times and either wait forever or get disconnected.

I had the same problem with those ridiculous wait times, but I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a live person at the P-EBT office in about 20 minutes. They basically wait on hold for you and call you back when a real person answers. Saved me hours of frustration. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 \n\nOnce I got through, the representative told me my district's batch was scheduled for processing the last week of this month, so now I at least have a timeline instead of wondering.

Does this actually work?? I'm desperate enough to try anything at this point. Did they give you specific information about your P-EBT card?

Yes, it really worked for me! The rep was able to check my kids in their system and confirmed they were on the list for the next batch of cards going out. She even updated my address since we moved recently. Definitely worth not having to sit on hold all day.

Thanks for suggesting this! I might try it if the school doesn't have good info tomorrow. Did they tell you if there's a way to check status online instead of calling?

My daughter's school told me the P-EBT website should be updated sometime next week with a lookup tool so we can check status without calling. Has anyone seen this yet?

Yes, there's a status lookup tool being launched next week. You'll need your child's student ID number and date of birth to check. The official P-EBT website (ca.p-ebt.org) will have the tool under the

ok wait i'm confused now. is P-EBT the same as CalFresh or not? i thought they were separate things??

They're definitely separate programs. P-EBT is specifically for families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. The benefits come on a separate P-EBT card (not your regular EBT card). \n\nCalFresh is the ongoing food assistance program for low-income households (previously called food stamps).\n\nHowever, they're connected because if you receive CalFresh, your children automatically qualify for free school meals, which makes them eligible for P-EBT. But many families qualify for P-EBT through school meal applications even if they don't receive CalFresh.

Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I called my kids' school this morning and they confirmed we're on the list for free meals, but our district only submitted their data to the state last week (typical 🙄). The secretary said we should expect to see cards in about 3-4 weeks based on processing times. \n\nI'll keep an eye out for that status checker tool next week too. At least now I know what's happening instead of wondering if we were forgotten!

Glad you got some answers! Just so you're prepared - when the P-EBT cards arrive, they'll come in a plain white envelope that could look like junk mail. Many people accidentally throw them away. The return address will be from \

Just wanted to add that if you're still waiting for your P-EBT card, make sure to check with your post office too! My neighbor's card got held up there for over a week because their mailbox was too small for the envelope. Also, I've heard some districts are sending out email notifications now when they submit their data batches, so it might be worth asking your school if they do that. It's so frustrating how inconsistent the communication is across different districts!