On Friday, April 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved California’s application to operate a Pandemic
Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program during COVID-19.
The
California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will issue P-EBT
benefits to households currently receiving Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and to households with children who
are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals whose schools were
closed for at least five consecutive days during the COVID-19 emergency.
Through
the P-EBT program, each eligible child in the household will receive
$5.70 per day for each day of the month in which
school was cancelled due to COVID-19. The California Department of
Education (CDE) and CDSS estimate that this will provide more than $1.4
billion to over 3.8 million school children throughout the state to
address food insecurity during this emergency.
The
CDE and CDSS have identified children from households that are directly
certified to receive Free and Reduced-Price school meals. These
households will automatically be mailed their
P-EBT card in the coming weeks. Beginning in Mid-May, children from
households who were not directly certified for free and reduced-price
school meals will be able to apply online for P-EBT.
Outreach
The
CDE and CDSS will provide P-EBT outreach toolkits to school nutrition
partners in the coming weeks. The P-EBT outreach
toolkit includes sample communications for schools to notify eligible
households about the availability of P-EBT. Schools are strongly
encouraged to only use these state-provided outreach materials to
reduced confusion about this new, time-limited pandemic
relief program. Attached is a one page flyer that summarizes the
benefits of P-EBT for families.
Webinar
The
CDE and CDSS will host a P-EBT Information Webinar on Thursday, April
30 from 10-11am. During this webinar, we will provide
more information about P-EBT, including school districts’ role in
helping families access this essential nutritional support. You can
register for the webinar here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7270308839452123918
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Are children who are still receiving school meals through COVID-19 emergency feeding sites eligible to participate in P-EBT?
Response: Yes. P-EBT benefits are in addition to, not in lieu of, free and reduced-price meal benefits. Children who receive
P-EBT may still continue to receive meals at COVID-19 emergency sites.
-
Does a child’s immigration status impact their ability to participate in P-EBT?
Response:
No, P-EBT is a program that is affiliated with free and reduced-price
meal eligibility. Similar to school meal
programs, there are no restrictions by immigration status associated
with P-EBT. P-EBT is not the same as CalFresh or Food Stamps.
Contact Information
For more information about P-EBT, you may visit the CDSS P-EBT webpage at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/home/pandemic-ebt.
For updated information about COVID-19 emergency feeding, please visit the CDE COVID-19 School and Child and Adult Day Care
Meals webpage at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/schoolmeals.asp. This page is updated each Friday with new information.
Thank you.
Nutrition Services Division
California Department of Education
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Web | www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/
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