Tag Archive for: #pandemicelectronicbenefittransfer

NCDHHS

Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Program to Assist Local Families

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-Press Release, Granville County Government

North Carolina has received approval from the USDA to initiate a new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. This program will assist families who have been impacted by school closings, due to COVID-19, in purchasing food for their children.

Those who are eligible include:

  • School-age children who currently receive free or reduced lunch;
  • Children receiving Food and Nutrition Services benefits; and
  • Non-FNS households.

P-EBT benefits will be issued from the Department of Public Instruction this week (week of April 27, 2020) for Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) households and the week of May 4, 2020, for non-FNS households. This new program is in addition to other services that families may already be participating in.

There is no application process to receive P-EBT benefits. For those already receiving FNS services, benefits will be automatically placed on the family’s EBT card. Non-FNS households will receive an explanatory letter in the mail from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and will be issued a new P-EBT card, which will be a plain white card with either the parents’ names or the child’s name. The back of the card will display EBT information. These cards will be useable for 365 days.

Families will be able to use the P-EBT card to purchase food items at EBT-authorized retailers, including most major grocery stores, and are encouraged to continue utilizing feeding programs and local school and community sites. To find local meal sites, participants can text FOODNC to 877-877. The service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877.

For more information, program participants may call the EBT call center at 1-888-622-7328, download the ebtEDGE mobile app at www.ebtedgemobile.com, or go to the NCDHHS website at https://www.ncdhhs.gov.

NCDHHS

NCDHHS to Provide Additional Food Benefits for More than 800,000 Children

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-Press Release, Office of Governor Roy Cooper

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that North Carolina has been approved for the new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, to help families purchase food for children impacted by school closings due to COVID-19. NCDHHS is working to operationalize the program and families will begin to receive this benefit in the coming weeks.

“So many families are in need, especially with so many out of work right now. This approval helps people get assistance faster to feed their families,” said Governor Cooper.

The program provides a benefit on an EBT card to North Carolina families whose children are eligible for free and reduced lunch at school. Families will receive $250 in P-EBT benefits per child, provided in two installments, with the possibility of an additional benefit if North Carolina schools are closed beyond May 15. Families will be able to use the P-EBT benefit to purchase food items at EBT authorized retailers, including most major grocery stores.

Families will not need to apply for the P-EBT program. P-EBT eligible families already receiving Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) benefits will receive an additional benefit on their existing EBT card. P-EBT eligible families not already enrolled in FNS will be mailed a new EBT card in the next few weeks. Families who receive a new EBT card will receive a letter from DHHS in the mail explaining how to activate and use their card.

“As our schools closed, many families across the state worried about where their next meals would come from—and we knew we had to take action,” said NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D. “The P-EBT program will provide extra help buying groceries for the families of the more than 800,000 children who normally receive free and reduced lunch at school.”

North Carolina is one of the first four states to receive federal approval from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide P-EBT benefits, which are entirely federally funded.

The new P-EBT program is in addition to other services families may be participating in. As announced previously on March 30, 2020, all families that receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) will receive the maximum amount allowed for March and April 2020 for their household size. Families are encouraged to continue utilizing feeding programs at local school and community meal sites for free, nutritious meals for children.