The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program has provided temporary nutritional benefits to thousands of eligible children across the United States. The goal is to replace the free meals that children had to get at discounted prices at their schools.
In other words, given the context created by the pandemic, the schools were not operational and the government decided to put those extra dollars on EBT cards.
However, the end of the health emergency worldwide and in the United States has prompted the culmination of many relief programs. This includes in particular the electronic power transmission program due to the pandemic.
Therefore, children who have already received food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not receive P-EBT benefits. These children must be under the age of six and live in the United States.
Which states will participate in the P-EBT for the last time by the summer of 2023?
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado and the District of Columbia headline the list of states that will participate in this program by the summer.
Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma follow.
Finally there is Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In this case, children who attended a participating NSLP school will be eligible for P-EBT benefits this summer.
However, it is important to clarify that the program will return to normal in 2024; So it will be the last time this help will be granted. Beginning next year, the program will provide low-cost school meals at educational centers.
There is also the case of those children who received free or discounted meals under the National School Lunch Act. Here they are entitled to P-EBT benefits if their schools were open, with reduced hourly hours or attendance for at least five consecutive days.