Unfortunately, the emergency allotments (the "extra" CalFresh benefits) ended over two years ago when the federal public health emergency declaration for COVID ended. Each household now only receives their regular calculated benefit amount based on household size, income, and expenses. What might help you is reporting any changes that could increase your benefit amount: 1. Decreased income 2. Increased rent/housing costs 3. Increased utility expenses 4. Childcare expenses 5. Medical expenses over $35/month (for elderly or disabled household members) You can report these changes at BenefitsCal.com or by submitting verification to your county office. This might increase your regular monthly benefit.

lol their always sayin extra benefits are comin but they never do 🙄

hope u got ur money back by now but if not go to a food bank!!! theres one at the community center on madison street that gives out good stuff on tuesdays and fridays. got us through when our benefits got messed up last year

I wanted to follow up - did you get any resolution when you went back to the office? For others reading this thread in the future, California implemented new EBT theft protections in 2025 that should make these situations less common. They're now using chip cards and have better fraud monitoring systems. If anyone experiences theft: 1. Report it immediately to the EBT customer service line AND local police 2. Submit the EBT-2259 form to your county office within 5 days of discovering the theft 3. Request an emergency allotment if you have no other food resources 4. Check benefit status through the BenefitsCal portal or mobile app 5. Consider transferring benefits to a bank account as soon as they're received (as another commenter suggested) The state is required to process valid claims within 10 calendar days, though some counties may take longer.

i got something extra but it wasnt a disaster thing it was cuz i reported my rent went up on my sar7 and they gave me more benefits starting this month maybe thats what they meant?? did ur costs change recently

My sister in San Diego got the disaster supplement but she had to apply separately for it. They didn't just automatically add it to her regular benefits. She had to show she lost food due to power outages from the storm. Is that what you're talking about?

Quick tip from someone who just went through this: Take a screenshot of your current balance before activating the new card! That way if there's any discrepancy you have proof of what was supposed to transfer. I did this and everything went smoothly, but better safe than sorry with something as important as food benefits.

the whole system is so frustrating why cant they just leave things alone my benefits got delayed last time they did a "system upgrade" and i couldnt feed my kids for 3 days

Just to clarify about the 11-month-old receiving a P-EBT card - there was a provision in the 2025 P-EBT extension that allowed benefits for children under 6 in CalFresh households in certain counties heavily impacted by school closures, regardless of school enrollment. San Bernardino County was one of these areas. That's likely why your baby received a card. The current issuance is for the summer 2025 period, and benefits should be spent within 274 days. They won't expire immediately, but don't wait too long to use them either. And yes, keep the physical cards even after spending the balance - if there are any supplemental payments, they'll be loaded onto the same cards.

You can check the balance on each P-EBT card in several ways: 1. Call the number on the back of each card and follow the automated prompts for balance inquiry 2. Visit the ConnectEBT website (connectebt.com) and register each card separately 3. Download the ConnectEBT mobile app (available for iPhone and Android) 4. Check your receipt after making a purchase The easiest ongoing method is probably the app once you've set everything up. Just remember that each P-EBT card needs to be registered individually, and the balances are separate from your regular CalFresh EBT account.