The P-EBT meal assistance program is being reintroduced to Arizona families in need, the Arizona Department of Security announced March 15.
The ADES estimated over $636 million will be distributed to around 756,000 children across the state of Arizona, and will begin distribution mid-April, according to press release. ADES also estimates Child Care P-EBT will be distributed to 134,000 children enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer gives meal assistance to families whose children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals while schools are closed or part-time.
The benefit is available for every child in a household that is either enrolled in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act program whose school is closed or offering a hybrid learning model during the pandemic, according to the ADES press release.
To apply for benefits, families should contact their child’s school to apply for the National School Lunch Program. Families who are already registered for the current 2020-2021 school year do not need to re-apply.
Instead, the department will distribute pre-loaded EBT cards to eligible families that can be used to purchase groceries, according to the ADES website. Families who participated in the 2020 P-EBT should save their previously issued EBT card which can be used to access benefits quicker.
ICYMI: DES and @azedschools announced Monday the reintroduction of Pandemic EBT for children participating in the free or reduced-price school meals program, as well as children under six participating in SNAP. Learn more: https://t.co/ay9lR0HUor pic.twitter.com/ejsvzvEBYY
— AzDES (@ArizonaDES) March 18, 2021
Children under the age of 6 receiving nutrition assistance are also eligible for Child Care P-EBT, which will begin distribution mid-March and will be issued through May 2021. The program provides an economic supplement for families under the assumption that children would be in child care if there were no pandemic.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last April, almost two in five US households of mothers with children 12 years and under were food insecure, and one in five children experienced food insecurity, according to a Brookings report.
In addition, food insecurity in households with children under 18 increased 130% percent from 2018 to May 2020 at the time of the Brookings report.
The $200 million distributed through the Pandemic EBT program in 2020 made a positive impact on Arizona families, and including children under 6 enrolled in SNAP helped to ensure the support of children’s nutrition, said the Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Michael Wisehart in the press release.
The program is made possible through a partnership between the Arizona Department of Economic Security, the Arizona Department of Education and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, according to the ADES press release.
Contact the reporter at nerossi@asu.edu.
