Parents to receive more food benefits for students
Parents may be getting additional financial assistance for students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, according to a press release issued today by the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
DHS and the Arkansas Department of Education announced the state has received federal funding for students who usually get free and reduced school meals but did not receive them during the 2021-21 school year due to closures or remote learning.
The program, Pandemic EBT or P-EBT, will be the second round of funding for Arkansans through the program.
According to the press release, in 2020, DHS issued P-EBT benefits to eligible students to help replace the cost of meals incurred when the state closed schools from mid-March through May last year.
“This round of P-EBT is quite different than the previous round because every school experienced the pandemic a bit differently once they reopened,” said Mary Franklin, DHS Division of County Operations
Director. “But the goal of the program is the same – to help families of eligible students who may be struggling to cover the cost of food for their children."
The second round of benefits will only be given to eligible students of schools that reported closures or virtual learning days due to Covid-19 concerns, according to officials.
"Children ages 6 and under who attended childcare and who were part of an active SNAP case between October 2020 and May 2021 are also eligible. Benefit
amounts will be based on the number of days a school was closed/virtual learning days and will vary by child," said Amy Webb, chief of communications with DHS. "That means students in the same family could receive different benefit amounts if they were in different school buildings or classrooms."
Officials said in the press release that families do not need to take any action to get P-EBT. Eligibility is based on records provided by school districts. Families are, however, encouraged to confirm or update their personal information with their child's school district including their child's date of birth and mailing address. Families also are encouraged to add their student's name to their mailing list with their local post office to avoid issues getting mailed EBT cards.
Benefits will be issued retroactively in four payments for meals missed during the 2020-21 school closures due to Covid-19. The first payments are expected to be issued by July 31.
If the student's family has an active SNAP case, benefits will be issued to the family's EBT card, unless the address DHS has on file is different than the address the school has on file. In that case, a new P-EBT card will be issued to the family by mail, officials said.
If the family does not have a current SNAP case, a new P-EBT card will be issued to the family by mail in the student's name. The card will come in a plain white envelope addressed to the student. Families should keep the new P-EBT card until all benefits have been issued, officials said.