Pandemic EBT

Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) provides grocery benefits to families when kids miss school meals because of COVID and during the summer months when school is closed. Children are eligible for P-EBT if they qualify for free or reduced price school meals. 

P-EBT was first authorized in March 2020 when schools were closed due to COVID-19. The program has since been expanded to include children under the age of six and extended through the public health emergency including over summers. As the program has been extended, it has been modified to provide benefits when hybrid school models are used and when individual students experience quarantine and illness. 

States are individually approved by the USDA to operate P-EBT. Each state determines their own P-EBT plans, so program components such as who receives benefits and when benefits are available differ from state to state. 

These resources are based on USDA guidance for school year 2022-2022 and Summer 2023:

• For details and updates on P-EBT for the 2022-2023 school year and summer 2023, see Fast Facts on P-EBT for 2023. 

• Pandemic EBT is a valuable resource for families, but as a newer program many families may not know about it. It is important for eligible families to know that P-EBT benefits are available, so they receive this support. Help spread the word with the Pandemic EBT Outreach Toolkit. This toolkit provides sample messaging, materials, and Frequently Asked Questions for P-EBT outreach in English, Spanish, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. 

• No Kid Hungry’s benefit webpage in English and Spanish includes information about P-EBT for families including states where the program is available and links to each state’s P-EBT website. This webpage is updated regularly as new states are approved.