Your family may qualify for $285 per child to help purchase food
Date: 06/12/20
The Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) have launched the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. This program provides extra help buying groceries for the families of children who normally receive free and reduced-price meals at school. Families will receive $285 in total benefits per child. The deadline to apply is June 15!
Families who applied for free or reduced-price meals after the P-EBT program was announced in May will receive $91.20 per child. Unused benefits will roll over month to month and must be used within 365 days. Benefits are available for 365 days. The cards may be used at any store that accepts SNAP to buy SNAP-eligible food items.
Your family may qualify for a new program that helps Louisiana families pay for food for their school-aged children. According to the Louisiana Department of Education June 15 is the final application deadline for the program. No further extension will be announced.
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, P-EBT is separate from the more familiar Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit, which is issued on a Louisiana Purchase EBT card to approved low-income households. The P-EBT card can be used to purchase the same eligible food for the household as can be purchased with a SNAP card. All SNAP families with qualifying students are also eligible to receive P-EBT benefits if they apply, and P-EBT also is available to non-SNAP families if they meet the P-EBT guidelines.
The P-EBT benefits do not compete with other school meals programs. Many public school systems are still offering emergency school meals to children regardless of the child's enrollment or income. Children can continue to access these meals, in addition to the P-EBT benefits.
The online application is simple, requiring only a name, address, school district and school. Social security numbers, while helpful, are not required. The information submitted by the family, however, must exactly match the information on file with the school system in order for the application to successfully submit. Once families complete an application in the portal, the computer system will notify them of their successful submission. Upon verification, DCFS will then mail the household a P-EBT debit card loaded with a one-time benefit of $285 per child (or $91.20 per child for those parents who applied for free lunch in May).
Families who completed the application by May 25 will be the first to receive the cards. They are expected to arrive this week. Families who completed the application by June 1 should receive benefits by June 13. Those who complete the application by June 8 should receive benefits by June 19. Those who apply by the new June 15 deadline should receive P-EBT cards by June 26.
Click here to learn more about the program and to click here to apply.