Second round of P-EBT benefits have been approved for select states! 

The following states are distributing P-EBT benefits for the month of September:

1. Delaware: For the 2020-2021 school year, approximately 81,000 children attending Delaware schools are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits. P-EBT benefits were issued to all eligible households on September 30. Visit their website for more details.
2. District of Columbia: P-EBT benefits for August 2020 and September 2020 have been paid to children who were eligible for P-BET during the last school year (2019-2020) AND this school year (2020-2021). Additional information can be found on their website.
3. Hawai'i: The Hawaiʻi P-EBT benefits were loaded on the existing Kokua EBT and Hawaiʻi P-EBT card accounts beginning September 29, 2020. New Hawaiʻi P-EBT accounts were mailed their cards beginning September 29, 2020. For more information, visit the Department of Human Services' website. Check here to look up your P-EBT status.
4. Indiana: P-EBT cards will be mailed to the address provided by the school. P-EBT cards are expected to start mailing mid-October and conclude by November 30. Read FSSA's FAQ for more information.
5. Kentucky: Cards will be mailed starting in October; some children may not receive a card until the end of November. Call 1-855-306-8959 and select Healthcare and Food Benefits option if you need assistance. For more information, check out this FAQ from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
6. Massachusetts: Over 470,000 students will receive P-EBT benefits starting September 30, 2020. Newly eligible students will receive a P-EBT card in the mail in October. Additional details posted here. 
7. Maryland: Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) in conjunction with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) received approval to continue to provide Pandemic-EBT(P-EBT) food assistance to 440,000 families during the month of September. Detailed information about Maryland’s Pandemic-EBT Program can be found here. Marylanders may also call the Pandemic-EBT Hotline at 1-833-330-PEBT (1-833-330-7328) for questions or concerns. 
8. Nebraska: Families who qualified for the second round of P-EBT had their benefits automatically already loaded onto an EBT card. Those EBT cards were mailed earlier this week to families who qualified. Click here to learn more. 
9. New Jersey: P-EBT benefits are now available to most families with an existing SNAP Families First EBT card. For non-SNAP recipients and certain SNAP recipients, P-EBT cards will be mailed in October. Call 1-800- 997-3333 or visit their website for more information.
10. New Mexico: The benefit will be added to existing P-EBT cards for about two-thirds of recipients, and they can expect to see the money in early October. Others who qualify for the new benefit but don’t have an existing P-EBT card will be issued one with the new benefit, a process that could take several weeks. Check New Mexico Department of Human Services' website for updates. 
11. Ohio: Each child will receive $5.86 (the federal reimbursement rate for breakfast and lunch) for each day a school has a virtual/remote learning period lasting at least 5 consecutive days from August 1 - September 30, 2020. If you have questions about P-EBT in Ohio, visit their website or call the customer service line at 1-866-244-0071. 
12. Oregon: Benefits will start being distributed September 28. Recipients may see two deposits on their Oregon EBT card – an initial deposit of $100 and a second deposit for all students receiving an amount over $100. Amounts vary by school district. Learn more here.
13. Rhode Island: The September distribution will be unique to each individual child. The P-EBT benefit will be $5.86 per day through September 30th and will be issued for the two weeks the public schools' reopening was delayed and for each day a child is learning virtually for at least five days in a row because the child's school reopened with only virtual learning, the household chose virtual learning, quarantine or the hybrid model of the child's school. For more details, check out this update or visit RI Department of Human Services for updates. 
14. U.S. Virgin Islands: Round two benefits vary by school and are based on the number of school days with virtual instruction. If you are going into the office to pick up the card(s), you must bring all of the following: picture ID for parent/guardian, proof of mailing address, the child's birth certificate and social security card. Learn more here.
15. Virginia: Students who are learning virtually for at least five consecutive days and are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school may receive another P-EBT benefit this fall. If you have previously received P-EBT, the new benefit will be automatically added to your card or you will be able to request a new card. If you are newly eligible, a P-EBT card will be mailed to you or funds will be added to your SNAP EBT card. Additional details posted here.

Read below for more updates about P-EBT! 

U.S. House Continuing Resolution Extends Pandemic-EBT Program Through Sept. 2021 for Hungry Families

The U.S. House of Representatives passed last night a Continuing Resolution that would extend the Pandemic-EBT program for families with school-aged children through September 30, 2021. The Resolution also expands Pandemic-EBT benefits, which are meant to cover the cost of school meals while students are learning remotely and which was set to expire on September 30, 2020, to include kids in child care as well as children in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. The Continuing Resolution also allows USDA to extend waivers through the 2020-2021 school year that make it easier for school districts to feed children while schools are closed in addition to allocating funding to states for administrative costs of the Pandemic-EBT program.

In response, Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, a nationwide nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, said: “The Continuing Resolution is an important step in the right direction, and we urge the Senate to pass it immediately. However, the Senate still needs to do more to support low-income Americans struggling with hunger as a result of job loss and school closures during the pandemic. 130 days ago, the House passed the Heroes Act, which contains important measures to alleviate the current hunger crisis including a 15 percent increase in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). We stand behind the provisions in the Heroes Act as the most effective way to help the estimated 54 million Americans who are now facing food insecurity.”

USDA Extends Waivers Through June 30, 2021

Waivers have been extended to:

• Permit meals to be served outside of the typically required group settings and meal times;
• Waive meal pattern requirements, as necessary; 
• Allow parents and guardians to pick-up meals for their children; and
• Allow SFSP and SSO meals to be served in all areas and at no cost. If you are unsure what your state or school district is doing to serve school meals during the pandemic, contact your child(ren)'s school district or your state's SFSP agency directly.

 

No Kid Hungry is currently accepting applications for their "Schools as Nutrition Hubs" grant. The grant is to support school nutrition departments working with community organizations to facilitate efforts to ensure that children in their community have access to food during the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline to apply is October 28th, 2020. To learn more about to grant, click here.

Hunger Is, an anti-hunger program funded by the Albertsons Companies Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, has awarded over 4.6 million dollars in grants within the past year to assist organizations seeking to join them in ending childhood hunger. Hunger Free America is proud to be a partner in their initiative to secure free school breakfast meals for all school-aged students. Their work has been instrumental in diminishing hunger nationwide. The grant is available for organizations in the following states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. For information on how to be a part of this upcoming year's round of funding, click here. 

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation accepts healthy kids and community/civic engagement grant applications throughout the year with no submission deadline. To apply online, click here.

The Walmart Foundation issues a variety of grants to organizations seeking additional funding, through its giving program. Grant applications for national-level organizations are available year-round, and applications for community impact grants can be submitted until December 31st. For more information on how to apply, click here.