Extra Food Stamps for California - February 2023 - California Food Stamps Help (2024)

Will California food stamps recipients receive extra CalFresh benefits for February? The extra food stamps for California for February 2023 are part of the Emergency Allotment (EA) Program. If you want to know how much extra CalFresh benefits you can expect in February and when you’ll receive them, continue reading below.

Alert: See below for when the $1,050 California Inflation Relief Checks will be mailed.

ANNOUNCEMENT: February 2023 will be the last month to receive extra Calfresh benefits. The program will no longer continue in March 2023. To learn more, continue reading below.

In this article, we will cover:

• What are Emergency Allotment benefits?
• Who qualifies for extra SNAP benefits?
• How much in extra food stamps will I receive?
• When you’ll receive your Extra Food Stamps in California
• Extra Food Stamps for California – February 2023
• Who is eligible for the $1,050 California Inflation Relief Checks?

Extra Food Stamp Benefits in California

Since March 2020, California has been using temporary SNAP flexibility to provide emergency food benefits to households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

These temporary flexibilities are also referred to as Emergency Allotment (EA) benefits.

What are Emergency Allotment benefits?

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act authorized emergency SNAP benefits because of COVID-19.

In California, the emergency allotments will raise each household’s monthly allotment of CalFresh to the maximum allowable based on household size.

In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will approve requests for the additional benefits on a month-by-month basis.

We will update this post each month to reflect the extra food stamps that was approved for the month.

EA benefits are part of the Pandemic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also know as P-SNAP.

To find out what households qualify to receive Emergency Allotment (EA) benefits during the Coronavirus pandemic, continue reading below.

Emergency Allotment Benefits Eligibility

If you are trying to find out if you are eligible to receive extra CalFresh benefits in California, we can help.

To find out who qualifies for extra food stamps benefits, continue reading below.

Who qualifies for extra CalFresh benefits?

Any household that is currently receiving CalFresh benefits qualifies for extra food stamp Emergency Allotment (EA) benefits.

There is no extra paperwork to turn in to get the extra CalFresh benefits.

It will simply be added to your EBT card, and you’ll be able to use it just like regular CalFresh.

In addition, any household that is approved for SNAP EBT in a month when EA benefits are issued, will also qualify to receive extra food stamp benefits.

To find out how much you can expect to receive in extra SNAP benefits, continue reading below.

How much in extra food stamps will I receive?

The amount of extra food stamp benefits you receive is determined by your household size.

Your Emergency Allotment benefits through P-SNAP is the difference between the amount of benefits you are currently receiving and the maximum benefit amount for your household size.

If you are already receiving the maximum monthly benefit amount for your household size, then you will not receive any additional or extra SNAP benefits.

However, if you are not receiving the maximum benefit allotment for your household size, then you will receive extra food stamp benefits.

This means that you will receive the Maximum Benefit Amount for your household size with EA benefits.

For help, check out our example on how to calculate your Emergency Allotment benefits below:

Emergency Allotment Benefits Calculator

The formula to calculate how much in extra CalFresh you will receive through Emergency Allotment (EA) benefits is provided below.

Maximum Monthly Benefit Allotment for Household Size – Current Monthly CalFresh Benefits = Total Extra Allotment CalFresh benefits

Example:

If you live in a household of 3 people and are currently receiving $400 in CalFresh benefits per month, then you will receive $135 in extra food stamp benefits.

That’s because the maximum allotment amount for a household of three is $535 per month.

To find out the maximum SNAP benefit allotment for your household size, check out the table below.

Maximum SNAP Benefit Allotment by Household Size

Use the chart below to find the Maximum SNAP Allotment Amount for your household size.

The 2022/2023 maximum SNAP allotments for the District of Columbia and all states other than Alaska and Hawaii are as follows:

When you’ll receive Extra SNAP Benefits in California

All households with active CalFresh cases in the benefit month will receive the maximum amount of benefits for their household size.

Emergency Allotments are approved on a rolling basis and issued by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS).

The Emergency Allotment for a benefit month is issued in the middle of the next month.

For example, when you get the extra benefit in mid-March, it’s technically for the month of February.

If you do not receive your Emergency Allotment benefits, please contact your SNAP caseworker at your local CDSS office.

However, before you call your caseworker, make sure you have reviewed the payment schedule below to see all three issuance dates for extra benefit for the month you are missing.

To find the CDSS office near you, click here.

To find out when you can expect to receive your extra California SNAP benefits for this month, continue reading below.

Extra Food Stamps for California – February 2023

To find out when you can expect to receive your Emergency Allotment EA benefits on your California SNAP EBT Card for February 2023, see below.

When will I receive my extra food stamp benefits for February 2023?

California has requested and been approved to issue CalFresh emergency allotments for the month of February 2023.

February Extra CalFresh benefits will be issued on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

For February 2023, CalSAWS and CalWIN will be issued on the same day.

I did not receive Extra Food Stamps in January. What Can I Do?

Extra food stamps benefits for January 2023 will be paid on Saturday, February 4, 2023, and Saturday, February 11, 2023.

However, if you did not receive your benefits in January, the next round of January payments will be issued on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

I still have not received my Extra Food Stamps for December. What Can I Do?

Extra food stamps benefits for December 2022 were paid on Saturday, January 7, 2023 and Friday, January 13, 2023.

However, if you did not receive your benefits on January 7th or January 13th, the next round of December payments will be issued on Saturday, February 4, 2023, and Saturday, February 11, 2023.

Also, if your December payment did not come on Saturday, February 4th or Saturday, February 11th, then the last opportunity to receive your payment for October is on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Is California issuing extra SNAP benefits in March 2023?

No, California will not be issuing extra food stamp benefits in March 2023.

February is the last month to receive extra food stamp benefits in California.

Earlier this month, the USDA announced that the Emergency Allotment (EA) Program that issues the extra good stamp benefits will end on March 1, 2023.

This means that February 2023 will be your last month to receive the extra EA benefits on your Calfresh EBT Card.

For March 2023, all SNAP households will return to their normal pre-pandemic benefit amount.

Not sure how much you will receive? Check out our Calfresh Food Stamps Calculator to find out.

In addition, households receiving both Social Security and SNAP may see a decrease in their SNAP benefits.

This is due to the increase in Social Security benefits that went into effect on January 1, 2023.

To learn more about all the changes happening to California food stamps and Calfresh benefits, check out this article.

Are new CaliforniaSNAP recipients eligible for extra food stamp benefits?

Yes, if your CalFresh application is approved during the month of February, P-SNAP benefits will be issued at the time of approval.

How do I check to see if I received my extra SNAP benefits?

To find out if you have received your extra SNAP EBT benefits for January or February, check your CalFresh EBT Card balance.

The Emergency Allotment benefits will be automatically deposited to your card EBT Card on your scheduled date.

Click here to find out how to check your CalFresh EBT Card balance.

CalFresh Emergency Allotment Payment Schedule for 2023

Here’s how to read the Emergency Allotment Payment Schedule Below:

As mentioned above, each eligible household will only receive one emergency allotment per benefit month that emergency allotments are approved.

However, California runs three issuances for each approved emergency allotment for a given month.

Therefore, if you did not get the benefit on the first issuance date for a particular month, it means it may be sent on the second issuance date.

Furthermore, if you did not get the benefit for a particular month on the first or second issuance date, it means you will receive that benefit on the third issuance date for that month.

It is therefore possible that your extra benefit for a particular month may be issued the following month, two months after, or three months after.

Here’s the CalFresh Emergency Allotment Issuance Schedule for 2022 and 2023.

What is the New CalFresh Income Limit for 2023?

Most households must have a total gross monthly income less than or equal to 200% of the federal poverty level, to be potentially eligible for CalFresh.

If your household has a person who is 60 or older or disabled, only the net income limit must be met.

Inflation Relief Checks are coming for Millions of Californians – worth up to $1,050

According to CNBC, more than half of California’s residents may soon receive a stimulus check from the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has announced.

This is part of an inflation relief package worth $17 billion.

It is estimated that 23 million Californians will receive payments, totaling up to $1,050 for joint filers with at least one dependent.

Payments will be mailed this fall.

Who is Eligible for Inflation Relief Check?

Eligibility for the inflation relief check will depend on how much money each California resident earns, as well as how many dependents they have.

To be eligible, you must fall into one of the three income tiers for either single or joint tax filers.

Here are the income tiers for single and joint filers and how much each tier could receive.

Single tax filers will receive:

$350 if they earn less than $75,000 per year
$250 if they earn between $75,001 and $125,000 per year
$200 if they earn between $125,001 and $250,000 per year

Joint tax filers will receive:

$700 if they earn less than $150,000 per year
$500 if they earn between $150,001 and $250,000 per year
$400 if they earn between $250,001 and $500,000 per year

However, if either single or joint filers have at least one dependent, they will receive an additional amount of either $350, $250, or $200, based on their tier.

Importance of CalFresh Benefits

Here is data about CalFresh from The Public Policy Institute of California.

About 4.8 million Californians—one in eight—participate each month in CalFresh.

Additionally, about 6.5 million Californians are eligible for CalFresh, according to the California Department of Social Services 2022.

Also, roughly half of California’s young children participate in CalFresh by the time they turn six.

In California, families are eligible for CalFresh when their incomes fall under the federal poverty line ($27,750 in 2022 for a family of four).

Furthermore, as of January 2023, the average monthly benefit per participant was $262.

New Summer EBT Program

The omnibus spending legislation before Congresswould createa “Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer” (Summer EBT) debit card program for low-income families.

It will provide a monthly $40 per child grocery benefit that would be adjusted for inflation over time.

The roughly 30 million children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches would be automatically enrolled in the program.

This will help their families to afford food in the summer—when low-income households have been shown to struggle with food insecurity at higher rates than during the school year.

Extra Food Stamps for California – February 2023 Summary

Here’s the bottom line about Extra Food Stamps for California – February 2023:

Since March 2020, California has been using temporary SNAP flexibility to provide emergency food benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each eligible household will only receive one emergency allotment per benefit month that emergency allotments are approved.

Extra CalFresh benefits for February 2023 will be paid on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

However, California runs three issuances for each approved emergency allotment for a given month.

Therefore, it is possible that your extra benefit for February may be issued in March 2023 or April 2023.

Also, if you did not receive your January extra SNAP benefits in February, the next round of January payments will be issued on Saturday, March 25thas well.

Questions?

We hope this post on Extra Food Stamps for California – February 2023 was helpful.

If you have further questions about CalFresh or California EBT Card, please let us know in the comments section below.

Also, be sure to check out our other articles about California SNAP and EBT, including:

• Are we getting Extra Food Stamps This Month?
• $3,000 Child Tax Credit
• California Inflation Relief Checks – Who is Eligible?
• How long will Extra SNAP for California Last?
• Can you buy Dog Food with SNAP EBT?
• California Food Assistance for Undocumented Immigrants