Why haven't I received my daughter's P-EBT payment? Last distribution for P names missing
I'm completely confused about this P-EBT situation. My daughter's name starts with P and we received all the previous P-EBT payments just fine, but we're still waiting on that final payment they announced for 2025. It's been over 3 weeks since they said the last batch was being sent out. Everyone I know with kids whose names start with other letters got theirs already! I checked my EBT account balance online and nothing new has been added. Has anyone else with children whose names start with P having this issue? I called the P-EBT hotline twice but just got the automated message both times. How long should I wait before really worrying about this? We're counting on that $535 for groceries this month.
18 comments
Join the conversation
Sasha Ivanov
same here!! my son's name is Parker and nothing yet. my neighbor got hers last week and her kid's name starts with M. makes no sense why they do it alphabetical anyway
0 coins
Miguel Hernández
•That's so frustrating! Did you try calling the hotline too? I wonder if there's a delay just for the P names or if something went wrong with our cards specifically.
0 coins
Liam Murphy
The P-EBT distributions for 2025 are being released in waves based on the first letter of the child's name, but there have been some delays with the P-R group specifically. According to the last update on the CDSS website, they encountered a technical issue with that particular batch. They're supposed to be released by the end of this week. If you don't receive it by next Monday, you should contact your county office directly rather than the P-EBT hotline, which is overwhelmed right now. Make sure you have your child's student ID and date of birth handy when you call.
0 coins
Amara Okafor
•This is BS. They always have "technical issues" with certain groups. Last year they did the same thing with my kids (names start with R) and we waited 6 weeks longer than everyone else. They should just deposit all the money at once instead of this alphabet nonsense.
0 coins
CaptainAwesome
Just to clarify something important - P-EBT is different from regular CalFresh benefits. P-EBT goes onto either a special P-EBT card or your existing EBT card (depending on how you set it up), but it's administered by a different department than regular CalFresh. The county CalFresh workers often don't have much information about P-EBT issues because it's handled at the state level through the Department of Education. That's why the hotline is usually the only way to get help with P-EBT specifically.
0 coins
Miguel Hernández
•Thanks for clarifying! I've been using the same EBT card for both, so I just assumed they were all managed the same way. That makes it even more confusing to know who to contact when there's a problem.
0 coins
Yuki Tanaka
I work for a food assistance nonprofit and we've been hearing about this P-EBT delay for the P-R names a lot this week. If you need emergency food assistance while waiting for your P-EBT to arrive, please check with your local food bank. Many have special distributions right now because they know families are waiting on these delayed payments. You don't need to prove eligibility if you're a P-EBT recipient - just mention the delay when you go.
0 coins
Miguel Hernández
•Thank you for this information! I might need to check out our local food bank if this payment doesn't come through soon. It's good to know they're aware of the situation.
0 coins
Esmeralda Gómez
When you do try to contact someone about this issue, I'd recommend using Claimyr to get through to a real person instead of the automated system. I was having a similar issue with my daughter's P-EBT card (her name starts with Q) and was getting nowhere with the hotline. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me through to a real human at the state office in under 10 minutes. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. They managed to verify that my daughter's payment was actually processed but had been sent to an old address, so they're reissuing it now.
0 coins
Klaus Schmidt
•does this really work? ive spent HOURS trying to get thru to anyone about my sons pent card being lost. might try this if it actually works
0 coins
Esmeralda Gómez
•It definitely worked for me! I was skeptical too, but after spending 3 days trying to get through on my own, I was desperate. The service connected me to a specialist who could actually see my daughter's P-EBT case in their system and fix the address issue right away.
0 coins
Sasha Ivanov
update: i just got my sons p-ebt payment today!!!! check your accounts everyone with P names!!!
0 coins
Miguel Hernández
•Just checked and ours came through too! What a relief! Thanks everyone for the help and information!
0 coins
Fatima Al-Mazrouei
That's great news that the P names are finally coming through! I'm a single mom with two kids whose names start with P and we've been waiting anxiously too. Just checked our EBT balance and still nothing, but hopefully it'll hit our account in the next day or two. This whole alphabetical system really does cause unnecessary stress for families who are depending on these benefits. At least now I know it's not just us and that the payments are actually being processed!
0 coins
Mason Stone
•I'm in the same boat as you! Single mom here too and we're still waiting on our P-EBT payment. My daughter's name starts with P and it's been such a stressful few weeks not knowing when it would come. It's really encouraging to hear that other P names are starting to come through though - gives me hope that ours will show up soon too! The alphabetical system really does seem to create more problems than it solves. Fingers crossed we both get ours in the next couple days!
0 coins
Jacob Lee
I'm so glad to see the P names are finally starting to come through! My son's name is Pablo and we just got our payment this morning too. I was getting really worried because we had already planned our grocery budget around that $535. For anyone still waiting, I noticed mine posted around 6 AM, so definitely check early in the morning. The whole alphabetical rollout system really needs to be reconsidered - it puts so much unnecessary stress on families who are already struggling. At least now we know the technical issues have been resolved!
0 coins
Matthew Sanchez
•That's such a relief to hear! I'm new to this whole P-EBT system and was starting to panic when I saw other families getting their payments weeks ago. My daughter's name is Penelope and we're still waiting, but knowing that Pablo payments came through this morning gives me hope ours will be soon too. I'll definitely check early tomorrow morning like you suggested. You're absolutely right about the alphabetical system - it seems like they could find a better way to distribute these payments without causing so much anxiety for families who really need the money.
0 coins
CosmosCaptain
Just wanted to add my experience - I'm also a parent with a child whose name starts with P (Priya) and we FINALLY received our P-EBT payment yesterday! After reading through all these comments, I checked with some other parents in my daughter's class and it looks like most of the P names in our area got their payments between Monday and Wednesday of this week. For anyone still waiting, I'd definitely recommend checking your balance first thing in the morning like Jacob mentioned - ours posted around 5:30 AM on Tuesday. I also want to echo what others have said about the food banks being understanding about the P-EBT delays. We ended up going to our local food pantry last week when we were running low on groceries, and they were super helpful and didn't make us jump through any extra hoops. Hang in there everyone who's still waiting - it really does seem like they've worked through the technical issues now!
0 coins