Will we receive more P-EBT 4.0 benefits after initial $120 payment on CalFresh EBT card?
Just received my $120 P-EBT 4.0 payment on my EBT card yesterday. I'm confused because I thought P-EBT was supposed to be more than that for the whole summer? My daughter is 7 and qualifies for free school lunch. Will they be loading more P-EBT money later or was the $120 the total amount for P-EBT 4.0? I'm trying to budget for summer groceries and need to know if I should expect additional payments or if that's all we're getting. Has anyone else received their P-EBT and know if more is coming?
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LilMama23
The P-EBT 4.0 is being issued in multiple payments, not just the one-time $120. According to the CDSS website, the $120 is just the first payment covering summer 2024. Most eligible children will receive around $455 total for the summer period, but it's being distributed in several payments throughout the summer months. The payments are scheduled to come approximately 30 days apart. Check your BenefitsCal account or the P-EBT portal for your specific issuance schedule.
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Aisha Patel
•Oh thank goodness! I was really worried because $120 doesn't go very far for feeding a growing kid all summer. Do you know if they'll come on the same date each month or just randomly? I hate checking my card balance every day hoping for a deposit.
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Dmitri Volkov
my nefew got $120 then another $175 two weeks later so keep checking ur card. they dont send notifcations or anything just randomly shows up
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Aisha Patel
•Thanks! That gives me hope. Wish they'd just tell us when to expect it instead of making us guess.
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Gabrielle Dubois
The P-EBT 4.0 benefit is distributed in phases, with the $120 being the first payment. The total summer benefit amount should be approximately $455 per eligible child for summer 2024, but this gets loaded incrementally. The timing varies by county and last name, so not everyone receives subsequent payments on the same schedule. If you need to confirm your specific payment schedule, you should try calling the P-EBT hotline at 877-328-9677, but be prepared for very long wait times. Many parents have reported waiting 2+ hours or getting disconnected. Alternatively, I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to my county worker about my P-EBT questions. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. They basically call for you, wait on hold, and then call you when a real person answers. Saved me hours of frustration.
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Tyrone Johnson
•I HATE HATE HATE the PEBT hotline!!!! been disconnected 5 TIMES trying to figure out why my second kid didnt get anything yet!!! might try that claimyr thing cause im about to lose my mind with these wait times
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Ingrid Larsson
Is P-EBT the same thing as CalFresh? Or is it something separate? I'm confused about all these different programs.
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LilMama23
•They're separate programs. P-EBT (Pandemic EBT) was created during COVID to help families who had children missing school meals, and it's continued as Summer EBT in many states. CalFresh is California's regular SNAP/food stamp program that's available year-round based on income eligibility. P-EBT benefits do get loaded onto your EBT card if you have one, which causes some confusion. If you don't have an EBT card, P-EBT comes on a special white P-EBT card.
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Carlos Mendoza
I got the $120 on June 10th for my two kids and then another payment of $150 each on July 8th. My neighbor said there should be one more payment coming in August to reach the full amount. I don't think they do it all at once to prevent people from selling their benefits or something like that. Just keep your EBT card and check it regularly!
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Aisha Patel
•Thank you for the specific dates! That really helps me plan. I'll watch for a deposit around August 5th-10th then. Makes sense they'd spread it out I guess.
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Zainab Mahmoud
Umm i dont think thats right. My caseworker told me the P-EBT 4.0 is a one-time payment of $120 per kid because funding got cut this year. Maybe ur thinking of last summer when it was more? I only got $120 for my son and nothing else has come through in the last 5 weeks.
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LilMama23
•Your caseworker is misinformed. The P-EBT 4.0 program for Summer 2024 provides approximately $455 per eligible child in California. This is federally funded and hasn't been reduced to $120. The $120 is just the first of multiple payments. If nothing more has arrived after 5 weeks, I'd recommend contacting the P-EBT hotline or checking the P-EBT portal to verify your child's eligibility status. Sometimes there are issues with the school reporting that need to be resolved.
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Dmitri Volkov
mines just came random not the same day each month so dont count on it comin on a spefic day just keep checkin
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Tyrone Johnson
My daughters school sent out an email explaining the whole P-EBT 4.0 schedule! The $120 is definitely just the first payment, with 2-3 more scheduled through August. Total should be about $455 per kid for the summer. They said the weird payment amounts and schedule is because of how the federal money got released to the states. Check with your kids school - mine had all the info!
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Aisha Patel
•Wow, your school is on top of things! Mine didn't send anything. I'll email our school secretary to see if they have any info about the schedule. Thanks for the tip!
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Giovanni Martello
I'm new to the P-EBT program and this is super helpful! My 5-year-old just started kindergarten this year and qualified for free lunch. I haven't received anything yet on my EBT card - should I be worried? Do I need to apply somewhere or does it come automatically if my child gets free school meals? I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do something to get the P-EBT benefits or if they just show up. Any advice for a confused parent?
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Charlee Coleman
•Hey Giovanni! For kindergarten students, P-EBT should come automatically if your child is certified for free school meals - no separate application needed. However, there can be delays in processing, especially for new kindergarteners since the school systems need time to report enrollment and meal eligibility data to the state. I'd give it another week or two, but if nothing shows up by then, definitely contact your school's main office to confirm they have your child marked as eligible for free meals and that all your contact info is correct in their system. Sometimes there are data mismatches that prevent the benefits from being issued.
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Laila Prince
Just wanted to share my experience to help others! My daughter received the initial $120 P-EBT payment in early June, then got $185 about 3 weeks later, and finally $150 in late July. The total came to exactly $455 like others mentioned. The payments definitely don't come on a set schedule - mine were 21 days apart, then 26 days apart. I started checking my balance every few days using the EBT app instead of calling the phone number since that's way faster. For anyone still waiting, don't panic if it's been a few weeks since your last payment - they seem to process them in batches and it can take time. The full amount should come through by the end of August according to what I've read.
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Ravi Malhotra
•This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you for sharing the specific timeline and amounts - it really helps to see how it actually played out for someone. I was getting anxious checking my card every day, but knowing the payments can be 3+ weeks apart makes me feel better about waiting. I'll download the EBT app like you suggested since calling that phone number is such a nightmare. Really appreciate you taking the time to break down your experience!
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Diez Ellis
I'm dealing with the same situation! Got my $120 about 3 weeks ago and have been anxiously checking my card balance daily. It's really frustrating that there's no clear communication from the state about when to expect the next payments. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me feel so much better - sounds like the full $455 does come through eventually, just at unpredictable intervals. I think I'm going to stop obsessively checking and just look once a week since it seems like the payments are typically 3-4 weeks apart. Thanks to everyone sharing their timelines, it really helps us newer families navigate this confusing system!
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Liam Sullivan
•I totally understand that anxiety of checking daily! I went through the same thing when I first got my $120 payment back in June. What helped me was setting a reminder to check just once a week on Sundays, and it made the waiting so much less stressful. The unpredictable timing is really frustrating, but from what I've seen in this thread and my own experience, the money does keep coming. I ended up getting my second payment about 4 weeks after the first one, so don't lose hope if it seems like it's taking forever. The state really needs to do better with communication about these payment schedules!
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Giovanni Rossi
I'm in the same boat as you Aisha! Just got my $120 P-EBT payment yesterday too and was panicking thinking that was all we were getting for the summer. Reading through everyone's responses here is such a relief - sounds like there are definitely more payments coming to reach that $455 total. I have twin 6-year-olds so I was really stressed about how I'd stretch $240 for both of them through the whole summer. Now I feel so much better knowing there should be 2-3 more payments coming over the next few weeks. I'm going to follow the advice about checking weekly instead of daily since it sounds like the timing is pretty unpredictable. Thanks for asking this question - you helped a lot of us worried parents!
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