Thousands of California households could receive up to $1,756 in additional food benefits in March thanks to the CalFresh benefits program, which is the Golden State’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
For example, a family of four may receive more than $975. The money is transferred directly to an EBT card, which works similarly to a debit card in supermarkets and on some websites. There are no cumbersome procedures! Of course, certain conditions must be met.
The CalFresh EBT card: Who can get it?
CalFresh is essentially the card that saves you when you don’t have enough money to stock your pantry. It is the California version of the federal SNAP, so the rules are set by the state.
The concept is simple: if you qualify, they deposit money on a card each month, allowing you to buy whatever you need. The best? You do not have to pay it back.
Not all individuals and households are eligible, but participation in the program is not impossible. First, your income must fall below a certain threshold (typically 200% of the federal poverty level).
Second, if you are a citizen or legal immigrant, you are now on the other side of the pond. Third, having more people living with you is beneficial. Do you work? It depends: some must be employed or looking for work, but there are exceptions.
SNAP/CalFresh benefits by household size (fiscal year 2025)
SNAP Benefits by Household Size (Fiscal Year 2025):
- Household Size 1:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $292
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $199
- Household Size 2:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $536
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $364
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $536
- Household Size 3:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $768
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $594
- Household Size 4:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $975
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $726
- Household Size 5:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $1,158
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $845
- Household Size 6:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $1,390
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $1,018
- Household Size 7:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $1,536
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $1,116
- Household Size 8:
- Maximum Monthly Benefit: $1,756
- Estimated Average Monthly Benefit: $1,317
- Each additional person: $220.
The payment dates for CalFresh in March
CalFresh, California’s food assistance program, distributes benefits on the first and tenth of each month to avoid overloading the system. If all beneficiaries received their payments on the same day, it would cause logistical issues for both the payment processors and the institutions that handle the transactions.
Beneficiary distribution is typically organized around the last digit of your case number. For example, those whose case number ends in 1 receive their payment on the first of the month; those whose case number ends in 2 receive it on the second, and so on until day 10 for those whose case number ends in 0.
This system is widely used in benefit programs because it is simple and allows for the equitable distribution of payments over the specified time period. This ensures that a similar volume of transactions are processed each day, allowing for more fluid and predictable management of program resources.