Most people are familiar with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, but what many are not aware of is that despite being federally funded and having general rules applicable to all states, the distribution of these resources and the enforcement of some more specific is left to each individual state. That also means that the program can take different names depending on where you live, and in the case of California, the program is named CalFresh.
Different name or not, the program works just like users expect from SNAP, when households qualify for the program, they are given an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card which receives every month the allocated funds. These funds can be spent on food and other allowed items and they allow low income households to eat better nutritious food.
In order for these programs to work, households need to be aware of the distribution dates when they will receive their payments. Since many studies have shown that many Americans cannot deal with a $400 emergency and most live without any kind of savings, knowing exactly when they will have money in their account is important to avoid them having to take out payday loans that they will be hard pressed to repay or having to go hungry.
The issue with SNAP or CalFresh is that since its distribution is dependent on each state and each state has a different system it can be harder for those not in the know to follow the calendar of benefit distribution. Since each state has their own set of rules and decides when to distribute SNAP based on the number of people that rely on the program, their own capabilities and some arbitrary criteria, it can be hard to generalize and surmise when a recipient will get their payment.
In the case of California, CalFresh benefits are distributed during the first 10 days of every month. This can be quite helpful for households relying on these funds as it can make it easier to plan ahead and schedule meals for the month when the money is in your account. How they are distributed is a bit more complicated and is dependent on the case number you were assigned when you applied for benefits. This makes it fair for everyone as it is an arbitrary system that does not favor any particular recipient.
Since the last digit of your case number is the one that determines the schedule, if the case number ends in “1”, benefits will be available on the 1st of the month. Usually benefits are loaded into a beneficiary’s EBT card at midnight so they should be available by the time a beneficiary wakes up in the morning. This means that if you do not find them on that same day you should contact your local CalFresh or SNAP office to verify that the payment has been issued and that there have been no problems with your specific account, case or data.
CalFresh payment schedule in June
June 1: The last digit of the case number ends in 1
June 2: the last digit of the case number ends in 2
June 3: the last digit of the case number ends in 3
June 4: the last digit of the case number ends in 4
June 5: the last digit of the case number ends in 5
June 6: the last digit of the case number ends in 6
June 7: The last digit of the case number ends in 7
June 8: the last digit of the case number ends in 8
June 9: the last digit of the case number ends in 9
June 10: the last digit of the case number ends in 0