P-EBT Update - October 26, 2021
The P-EBT Update provides information on Wisconsin's Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) Programs, School P-EBT, Pre-6 P-EBT, and Summer P-EBT. The U.S. Congress created P-EBT to provide food benefits to support families with children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The P-EBT Programs are being administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in coordination with the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Children and Families.
More Than $4 Million in Summer P-EBT Benefits Provided to More Than 9,000 Families on October 23
On October 23, DHS provided a second round of 2021 Summer P-EBT benefits totaling more than $4.29 million to the families of more than 11,000 children. Families received one-time payments of $375 for each eligible child. Benefits were made available to families with an existing QUEST or P-EBT card.
This second issuance of Summer P-EBT provided benefits to families of children who were not known to be eligible when benefits first went out on August 21.
Since the end of March 2021, DHS has issued almost $435 million to Wisconsin children as part of the School P-EBT, Pre-6 PEBT, and Summer P-EBT programs.
Hold Onto Your P-EBT Cards
The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has released new information for states about P-EBT for the 2021-2022 school year. They have reworked the rules of the program in response to what the pandemic looks like now. Wisconsin is looking at this information and planning. Please stay tuned for more information.
Any new program will re-use P-EBT cards sent out in 2020-2021, so keep your card! (If you’ve already gotten rid of your card, don’t worry. You can call and request a new one if you need to.)
Also, in the meantime, families who may be eligible for free or reduced price school meals through their children’s schools are encouraged to apply now for the 2021-2022 school year!
Even though most school districts will be offering free meals to all students during the 2021-2022 school year, a child must be officially enrolled in the free or reduced price meal program or attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school to meet certain eligibility criteria for P-EBT benefits.
Contact your school for an application (sometimes called an “F and R application”) and apply!
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