I went through something very similar with my mom who has kidney disease and needs a special low-sodium, low-phosphorus diet. The key thing that finally worked for us was getting a detailed letter from her nephrologist that specifically stated she "requires a medically necessary separate diet that cannot be shared with household members." We also kept grocery receipts for 2 months showing completely separate purchases - her specialized kidney-friendly foods vs regular groceries. The caseworker initially pushed back too, but once we had that medical documentation AND the receipt proof, they approved the separate household status. Don't let them discourage you - your medical needs are legitimate and the law supports separate households for medical necessity!

I'm actually going through this exact same situation right now with my diabetic father who lives with me and requires a very specific renal diet. What really helped us was creating a "food separation plan" document that we gave to the caseworker. It detailed exactly how we handle everything - separate grocery shopping trips, separate storage areas, separate cooking times, even separate dishes/utensils that we keep clean for his medical needs. We also got his dietitian to write a letter explaining that ANY cross-contamination or sharing could be dangerous for his kidney function. The caseworker seemed much more convinced when we presented it as a comprehensive plan rather than just saying "we eat separately." It took about 6 weeks total but they finally approved our separate household status. Keep fighting for this - your medical restrictions are completely valid and they have to accommodate legitimate medical necessity!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation! My benefits have always come on the 1st but now they're telling me the 8th. Like so many others here, I never got any notice about this change and I'm really struggling to make it through the week with no food money. What's been helping me is reaching out to local churches - even if you're not religious, many have food pantries or community meal programs. I also discovered that some community centers have "little free pantries" (like little free libraries but with food) where you can take what you need. I wanted to add another resource that saved me this week - if you have a smartphone, there are apps like "Flashfood" and "Too Good To Go" where grocery stores and restaurants sell their surplus food at major discounts. I got $40 worth of groceries for $12 yesterday through Flashfood. It's so frustrating that they made such a huge change without proper communication. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me feel less alone though. We're all just trying to feed our families and shouldn't have to scramble like this because of their poor planning. Thanks to everyone sharing resources - this community is really helping people get through a tough situation!

This is happening to me too! My benefits were always on the 1st but just found out they've been moved to the 5th. No notice at all and I'm completely out of groceries right now. I just wanted to add another resource that's helping me get through this week - many local Facebook community groups have people posting about free meals or extra food they're giving away. Search for "[your city] community" or "[your city] mutual aid" groups. I found someone yesterday who had extra produce from their garden that they were happy to share. Also, if you have any plasma donation centers near you, they usually pay decent money for first-time donors (like $50-100 for your first few donations). It's not ideal but it could help bridge the gap until your new benefit date. The fact that so many of us never got proper notice about such a major change is really unacceptable. At least we have each other to share resources and get through this mess together!

This is really concerning that so many people in the Lancaster area are getting these fake "Sunbucks" letters! I haven't received one yet but I'm definitely going to be on the lookout now. For anyone who's worried about their legitimate CalFresh communications, you can also sign up for text alerts through your BenefitsCal account - that way you'll get notified about real deadlines and requirements. Stay safe everyone and thanks for sharing this warning!

This is really helpful - I'm glad you posted about this! I'm in Palmdale (close to Lancaster) and I haven't gotten anything like this yet, but now I know to watch out for it. It's scary how official these scammers are making their letters look. For anyone who wants to double-check what legitimate CalFresh mail looks like, you can see examples on the LA County DPSS website under the "Forms and Publications" section. They have sample Notice of Action forms and other official documents so you can compare. Also, legitimate CalFresh communications will ALWAYS have your case number printed on them - if there's no case number, that's a red flag. Thanks for the warning everyone!

Three months is absolutely outrageous! I'm a newcomer here but had to jump in because this hits close to home - my sister went through something similar last year in a different county. The system is seriously broken when people can't get basic food assistance processed in a reasonable timeframe. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you're still getting the runaround after trying all these great suggestions, you might want to contact your local legal aid office. Many of them have attorneys who specialize in public benefits cases and can send a demand letter to the county. Sometimes that's what it takes to get them moving. Also, I noticed you mentioned you have kids - make sure to emphasize that when you call. Cases involving families with children are supposed to get priority processing, especially for hardship situations like yours. Hang in there and keep fighting! The fact that you uploaded through BenefitsCal with confirmation should work in your favor - they can't claim they never received it. You deserve better treatment than this, and I hope you get your benefits restored ASAP with full retroactive payments.

I'm new to this community but had to respond because your situation is absolutely unacceptable! Three months without benefits while they claim to be "processing" a form they received in February is beyond ridiculous. I've been reading through all the excellent advice here and wanted to add one more resource - if your county has an ombudsman office or client advocate program, that might be another avenue to escalate this. Some counties have these offices specifically to handle cases where regular channels aren't working. Also, when you do get through to someone, make sure to ask them to notate your file with "PROCESSING DELAY - CLIENT HARDSHIP" so there's a permanent record of this situation. That documentation could be important if you need to take further action. The fact that you have a BenefitsCal confirmation number should make this an open-and-shut case. There's no excuse for a 3-month delay when they have electronic proof of receipt. I really hope all these strategies help you get this resolved immediately - you and your family shouldn't have to suffer because of their administrative failures!

This is absolutely unacceptable and reading through all these experiences from 9 different states is both heartbreaking and infuriating. I'm also dealing with this same issue - my EBT card works fine in stores but Walmart Plus keeps rejecting it online. I'm a single mom with three kids under 10, and I work two part-time jobs just to make ends meet. I specifically saved up for the Walmart Plus subscription because I could order groceries after my kids went to bed and have them delivered while I'm at work, so my neighbor could receive them. Now I'm stuck paying for a service that doesn't work and having to drag three young children on public transit to grocery shop, which takes half my Saturday. What really gets me is that Walmart is STILL advertising EBT acceptance on their website and app - I literally saw an ad yesterday promoting "Use your EBT card for convenient delivery!" If they know the system is broken across the entire country, how is it legal to keep advertising and selling subscriptions based on a feature that doesn't work? That feels like straight-up false advertising to me. I'm going to file complaints with the USDA, BBB, and honestly considering reaching out to my local news station because this is affecting so many vulnerable families. We're talking about disabled veterans, seniors with mobility issues, caregivers, single parents, students without transportation - the people who MOST need accessible grocery delivery are the ones being failed by this "technical glitch" that's been going on for months. Everyone who's shared their story here should absolutely demand full refunds or significant extensions on their memberships. We shouldn't have to pay for services that don't work, especially when we specifically chose them for EBT access. This thread has been incredibly helpful - thank you all for speaking up and sharing resources. Let's keep the pressure on until this gets fixed properly!

This entire thread is both eye-opening and deeply concerning. I'm also dealing with this exact same issue in Illinois - my EBT card works perfectly fine in physical stores but has been getting rejected for Walmart Plus online orders for the past month. What started as what I thought was just my individual problem is clearly a nationwide crisis affecting the most vulnerable populations. I'm a graduate student with a disability that makes long shopping trips extremely difficult, and I specifically chose Walmart Plus over other services because of their advertised EBT acceptance. Reading through everyone's experiences - from disabled veterans to single parents to elderly caregivers - it's clear that this isn't just inconvenient, it's genuinely harmful to people who depend on accessible grocery delivery. The inconsistent responses from customer service that everyone's reporting really shows that either Walmart doesn't know what's happening with their own systems, or they're deliberately giving false information. Either way, it's unacceptable for a company this size to leave customers in the dark for months while continuing to advertise services that don't work. I'm adding Illinois to the growing list of affected states and will definitely be filing USDA and BBB complaints. The suggestion about reaching out to local news is excellent - this story needs more visibility. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and resources. The fact that we're all supporting each other through this situation really shows the strength of communities that are often overlooked by big corporations.