OHIO – USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is releasing new guidance today to assist states in the development of Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) plans for the summer of 2022.
Like last summer, P-EBT is available to all school children who were eligible to receive free or reduced price meals during the current school year, and to school children who are newly determined eligible for meal benefits during the summer months in states that have an approved SY 2021-22 plan for school children and/or children in child care. In such states, P-EBT is also available to all children under 6 who are enrolled in SNAP during the summer.
The P-EBT benefit for school children is available for the entire summer. However, the benefit for SNAP-enrolled children under 6 is only available through the end of the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. Should the public health emergency declaration end prior to the end of the summer, P-EBT benefits for this group will be prorated. Please see the Q&As for additional detail.
USDA’s P-EBT summer plan template is similar to last year’s template. USDA’s Summer P-EBT Q&As will also look familiar to states. Like last year, states have the option to elect a USDA-determined standard benefit that relieves them of the burden of calculating their own benefit based on state-specific school district calendars. The updated template and Q&As are now available on USDA’s P-EBT website.
