Families get help feeding schoolkids

P-EBT program provides $420 credit for buying food

New York parents of schoolchildren who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunched should check their mailboxes for a pandemic benefit card (P-EBT) valued at $420, public officials say.

P-EBT, a new program that provides food benefits to those who lost access to school meals because of COVID -19 in the 2019-20 school year, has been issued automatically by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (NYSOTDA).

Albany County Executive Dan Mccoy at a press briefing on Friday warned parents not to throw out the card, which can be used to buy food items and non-alcoholic beverages.

“I got a lot of questions from parents... it’s not a health card, so don’t throw it out. You’d better read (the instructions),” Mccoy said.

Families who already receive SNAP or public assistance saw the benefits added to their current EBT card in June. These families will not receive anything in the mail about P-EBT, and should check their card balance for the benefit.

Most families with Medicaid benefits, but not SNAP, saw the benefits added to their oldest child’s Medicaid card over the summer.

All other eligible families, including families who live in districts where all students receive free meals regardless of income, should have had a new EBT card mailed to them in September. The cards came with a letter from NYSOTDA with instructions to activate and use the card.

Every resident in the city of Albany with a child in school should have received a card, according to Mccoy.

Schools will continue to provide two free meals a day to any student regardless of income level or residency through Dec. 31 or until funds run out, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement earlier this month.

The federal agency was responding to pressure from Congress and anti-hunger advocates who pushed for breakfast and lunch to be offered free of charge through the end of the school year.

Schools in the Capital Region have been offering free meals to any child or teenager since March when buildings were shut down to slow the spread of COVID -19.

Local districts, which were delivering meals to homes or drop-off locations in the summer, have continued to make prepackaged “grab-and-go” breakfast and lunch available for pick-up to both in-person and remote learners. Initially, the Agriculture Department said schools should return to the normal restrictions in the fall by only providing subsidized meals to students who lived in the district and met an income threshold.