The Families First Coronavirus Response Act authorized emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 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. The Food and Nutrition Service will approve requests for the additional benefits on a month-by-month basis. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, May 21, 2020.] The March, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on April 12, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, April 2, 2020.] The April emergency allotment will be available on May 10, 2020. [Id.] The May, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on June 14, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, May 21, 2020.] The June, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on July 12, 2020. [Id.] The July, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on August 16, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, June 23, 2020.] The August, 2020 emergency allotment will be issued on September 13, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, August 3, 2020; All County Welfare Directors Letter, August 24, 2020 (correcting issuance date to September 13).] The September, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on October 18, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, August 24, 2020.] The October, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on November 15, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, September 29, 2020.] The November, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on December 20, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, October 30, 2020.] The December, 2020 emergency allotment will be available on January 10, 2020. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, November 30, 2020.] The January, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on February 14, 2021. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, January 4, 2021, ACIN I-21-11 [changing issuance date from February 7 to February 14, 2021.] The emergency allotments will be issued on the client’s existing electronic benefits transfer card. The February, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on March 7, 2021. [All County Welfare Directors Letter, January 29, 2021.] The March, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on April 18, 2021, so long as the COVID-19 public health emergency remains in place at some point in the month of March. [ACWDL, February 25, 2021.] The April, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on May 16, 2021. [ACWDL, April 16, 2021.] The May, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on June 13, 2021. [ACWDL, May 5, 2021.] The June, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on July 18, 2021. [ACWDL, June 2, 2021.] The July, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on August 8, 2021. [ACWDL, June 24, 2021.] The August, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on September 5, 2021. [ACWDL, August 11, 2021.] The September, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on October 24, 2021. [ACWDL, September 2, 2021.] The October emergency allotment will be available on November 14, 2021. [ACWDL, October 14, 2021.] The November, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on December 5, 2021 for CalSAWS counties and December 12, 2021 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL November 16, 2021.] The December, 2021 emergency allotment will be available on January 16, 2022. [ACWDL December 17, 2022.] The January, 2022 emergency allotment will be available on February 27, 2022. [ACWDL, January 21, 2022.] The February, 2022 emergency allotment will be available on March 20, 2022 for CalWIN counties and March 27, 2022 for CalSAWS counties. [ACWDL, February 23, 2022.] The March, 2022 emergency allotment will be available on April 17, 2022. [ACWDL, March 22, 2022.] The April, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on May 15, 2022 for CalSAWS counties and May 22, 2022 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL, April 7, 2022.] The May, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on June 12, 2022 for CalSAWS counties and June 19, 2022 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL, May 3, 2022.] The June, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on July 17, 2022 for CalSAWS counties and July 24, 2022 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL, June 9, 2022.] The July, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on August 14, 2022 for CalSAWS counties and August 21, 2022 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL, July 8, 2022.] The August, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on September 4, 2022 for CalSAWS counties and September 10, 2022 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL, August 19, 2022.] The September, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on October 16, 2022. [ACWDL, September 2, 2022.] The October, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on November 20, 2022 for CalWIN counties and November 27, 2022 for CalSAWS counties. [ACWDL, October 11, 2022.] The November 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on December 18, 2022. [ACWDL, November 1, 2022.] The December, 2022 emergency allotment will be issued on January 8, 2023 for CalSAWS counties, and on January 14, 2023 for the counties that remain on the CalWIN computer system. [ACWDL, December 9, 2022.] The January, 2023 emergency allotment will be issued on February 5, 2023 for CalSAWS counties and Sunday, February 12, 2023 for CalWIN counties. [ACWDL, January 10, 2023.] The February, 2023 emergency allotment will be issued on March 26, 2023. {ACWDL, February 2, 2023.]
The February, 2023 emergency allotment will be the last emergency allotment. [Id.] Beginning April 2023, CalFresh benefits will return to the regular amount listed on the most recent notice of action. [Id.] All CalFresh recipients are mailed an informing notice regarding the end of the emergency allotment. [Id.] CDSS is also doing a communications campaign to inform CalFresh recipients about the end of the emergency allotments. [Id.]
The Food and Nutrition Service will allow a one-month emergency allotment phaseout after the State-issued emergency or disaster declaration expires. States may request emergency allotment approval for one additional issuance month if the Secretary for Health and Human Services public health emergency declaration remains in place, and the State-issued emergency or disaster declaration has expired or will expire in the current month. The Department will release county guidance via letter if the phase-out emergency allotment is implemented. [ACWDL, November 1, 2022.]
Before April, 2021, CalFresh households already receiving the maximum allotment did not receive an emergency allotment. Starting in April, 2021, households that had not receive at least $95 in increase benefits through emergency allotments during COVID-19 will receive emergency allotments such that they receive at least a $95 emergency allotment. [USDA Press Release No. 0064/21, April 1, 2021; ACWDL, April 16, 2021.]
The Consolidated Appropriations Act increases CalFresh allotments by 15% for the period January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021. [ACIN I-11-21.] This increase in benefits must be excluded when calculating the amount of an overissuance against a household. [Id.] For January 2021, the benefit increase will be issued on February 7, 2021. [Id.] The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 extends the 15% increase in benefits to September 30, 2021. [ACIN I-24-21.] The 15% increase ended on September 30, 2021. [ACIN I-78-21.]
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act also authorized additional nutrition benefits in an amount equivalent to what a family loses because who are no longer in school are no longer receiving free or reduced cost meals through the school. California is calling this program Pandemic EBT (P-EBT). These benefits are separate from the CalFresh program. California is now on its fourth round of P-EBT benefits. Deadlines and procedures for P-EBT are often changing. Please go to the CDSS P-EBT page and the P-EBT website for information and details.