Household Help

Food, health coverage, and household help

Find the safer first stop for food help, CalFresh, Medi-Cal, Covered California, WIC, cash aid, county social services, IHSS, EBT card trouble, or local help.

Official link Last reviewed June 30, 2026

Why it matters

Food, health coverage, cash help, WIC, in-home support, EBT card issues, and local household help do not all use the same counter. Some routes start with the county. Some start with DHCS, Covered California, WIC, or 211. A plain route map helps you ask the right office before a notice, card problem, or health-coverage deadline gets more stressful.

Directory shelf

Start here

Find the right public office for everyday paperwork.

Open official source Browse this shelf

Route selector

Select the household help topic.

First moves

1
If you need food today, start with 211CA, a local food pantry, or your county social services office.
2
Write down the names in the household, county, mailing address, phone, email, income, rent, utilities, child care costs, medical costs, school status if relevant, and any notice or case number.
3
Keep copies of notices, benefit cards, EBT card numbers if safe, case numbers, usernames, appointment notes, upload receipts, letters, and screenshots from official accounts.
4
For food money, start with CalFresh and your county social services office. Many people are sent through an official online application path or the county.
5
For health coverage, start with Medi-Cal if you need public coverage, and Covered California if you need marketplace coverage or help comparing plans.
6
For pregnant people, new parents, babies, and young children, check WIC separately. WIC is not the same thing as CalFresh.
7
For cash aid, start with CalWORKs if children are in the household, and ask the county about General Assistance or General Relief if that better fits the situation.
8
For in-home help with daily care, check IHSS and the county IHSS office.
9
If an EBT card is missing, skimmed, or acting strange, use the official EBT safety and card pages quickly.
10
If a notice says benefits are changing, ending, delayed, or denied, read the notice date and instructions before the deadline passes.

Watch for

1
CalFresh, WIC, Medi-Cal, Covered California, CalWORKs, General Assistance, IHSS, and 211 are different offices.
2
BenefitsCal may appear in the application path, but the county is still the practical place for many case questions.
3
Program names can sound alike. Food help, health coverage, cash aid, and in-home support can have different rules and papers.
4
Do not send private documents through a random link or text. Use an official account, county office, or known agency page.
5
Never share an EBT PIN, login code, password, or one-time code with someone who calls or texts first.
6
Immigration, household, student, senior, disability, pregnancy, income, and county details can change which path fits.
7
A local nonprofit can help you fill out papers, but the official agency decides the case.
8
If a notice, hearing deadline, health coverage date, eviction risk, shutoff, medical need, or food emergency is on the line, use the official source and get qualified local help.

Directory paths

Keep moving through the directory.

Use the nearby shelf when this is the right lane, or jump back to the full directory if the task changed names.

ShelfStart hereFind the right public office for everyday paperwork.DirectoryPaperwork & MoneyReturn to the full tools shelf.Nearby toolLocal office routerA practical map for deciding whether to start with a city, county, state agency, court, utility, or special district.Nearby toolContractor, mechanic, and complaint helpFind the safer first stop for contractor trouble, auto repair problems, licensed professional complaints, insurance claims, scams, refund disputes, business-name checks, or small claims questions.A-ZFind another California pathUse the directory index when the task has a different name.