Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

CalFresh households can receive replacement benefits for food destroyed during recent winter storms

January 26, 2023

For Immediate Release
January 26, 2023

Contact:
Gene Kennedy, Public Information Specialist (951) 203-0343, [email protected]
Angela Maria Naso, Public Information Specialist, (951) 660-1925, [email protected] 

CalFresh households can receive replacement benefits for food destroyed during recent winter storms
Impacted residents have until Feb. 7 to report loss of food purchased with CalFresh benefits

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. —CalFresh recipients whose food was lost or destroyed during a series of winter storms from Jan. 7 to 12 have until Feb. 7 to report the loss resulting from this disaster and receive replacement benefits.

Riverside County was granted permission to extend the normal reporting period from 10 to 30 days in disaster-impacted areas countywide that experienced power outages. The additional time allows CalFresh households affected by the recent winter storms a chance to assess their losses and recover as much as possible.

County officials do not have an estimate of how many households or individuals qualify for CalFresh replacement benefits at this time.

“We wanted to let our customers know that if they lost food during early January winter storms, help is available,” said Allison Gonzalez, assistant director of the Self Sufficiency Division at the county’s Department of Public Social Services (DPSS). “We recommend impacted customers contact DPSS to request a replacement of benefits as soon as possible.”

To report food loss, CalFresh customers may call 1-877-410-8827. They may also report in-person at their nearest DPSS office, by fax, or by mail. Reports made by Feb. 7 are considered timely.

CalFresh is the state’s largest food program that issues monthly electronic benefits that can be used to buy groceries at many stores, farmers markets, and online through certain retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.

Impacted residents in need of food assistance and not already receiving CalFresh are encouraged to apply by calling 1-877-410-8827 or visiting  BenefitsCal.com.

# # #


Caption: A Riverside County CalFresh customer holds up her Electronic Benefits Transfer, or EBT, card.

DPSS has served Riverside County since 1923, when the department’s first two employees began serving local needs. Today, the department has more than 4,000 employees and serves one million residents a year in the tenth most populous county in the country.