When will 2025 P-EBT cards be distributed for children under 6? Can't find info anywhere

California's Department of Social Services just announced they're starting to send out P-EBT cards for under-6 children beginning March 15th, 2025. The rollout is happening in batches based on county and last name, so some families won't receive cards until early April. If your child received benefits last year and still qualifies (on CalFresh, living in a school district with eligible schools), you should automatically get one without applying. The old P-EBT card should still work if you kept it, they'll just reload benefits onto the same card.

my kids r 3 and 5 and i got a letter last week saying it wuld be loaded on our EXISTING cards from last year in april. dont throw those cards out!! they don't send new ones every year

I just got off the phone with CDSS yesterday about this exact question! According to the rep, they're BEHIND SCHEDULE with the under-6 P-EBT distribution. It was SUPPOSED to start in February but got delayed because they're still processing school data or something bureaucratic like that. The rep said initial cards should start going out mid-March BUT they're prioritizing areas with high food insecurity first. So if you're in a wealthier county, you might not see anything until APRIL!! Absolutely RIDICULOUS they can't get this organized better when families are depending on this assistance!! She also mentioned if you don't receive anything by April 30th you should call back.

This might sound silly but are you sure your child qualifies for the under-6 P-EBT? I thought P-EBT was only for school-aged children who would normally get free/reduced lunch at school. My daughter is 5 and I assumed she wasn't eligible since she's not in kindergarten yet.

i got my kids p-ebt last week but there both in elemtary school so maybe the school age kids get it first and then the littler ones? my neibor has a 4 yr old and they havent got nothing yet either

I was confused about this too and finally found some information in the FAQs section of the California CDSS website. According to their updates, the P-EBT for children under 6 years old follows a different issuance schedule than school-aged children. They're planning to distribute benefits to under-6 children in batches throughout March and April 2025. If your child received P-EBT benefits before, they should use the same card. If this is your first time, you'll get a new P-EBT card in the mail. The benefit amount will be $46 per eligible month for most children, though it varies based on school closure data in your area. Hopefully this helps! The communication around these benefits could definitely be clearer.

its so confusing trying to figure out whats going on with these benifits! i have a 7yo getting school p-ebt and a 2yo getting the under 6 p-ebt and they come at different times on different cards and the amounts r different too. why cant they make it simpler???