ELIGIBLE OK FAMILIES TO RECEIVE P-EBT
Students who were eligible for free or reduced meals before COVID should have also received this benefit:
ELIGIBLE OK FAMILIES TO RECEIVE P-EBT
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved the state of Oklahoma for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program on June 25, 2020. This program provides food benefits to families with school-aged children who temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to pandemic-related school closures. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) and Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) partnered with Hunger Free Oklahoma to deliver these benefits without requiring an application. Qualifying households will automatically receive a total benefit of $250.80 per school-aged child. OKDHS and OSDE worked together to determine eligibility through data sharing. Households with school-aged children who either receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from OKDHS or OSDE identified as having school-aged children eligible for free or reduced lunch qualify for the program. Benefits cover the 44-day period when schools closed March 17, 2020, through May 15, 2020. Funding for the program is provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. To determine the benefit amount, OKDHS multiplied the number of school days closed by the daily reimbursement amount for free breakfast and lunch. Benefits are broken down into three months and will be issued in three separate transactions by
August 30, 2020. Families already receiving SNAP benefits will automatically get P-EBT on their existing EBT card. Non-SNAP households will be mailed an EBT card with instructions. OKDHS expects to issue $111 million in P-EBT funds to over 300,000 Oklahoma families with school-aged children. Federally funded SNAP benefits supplemented the food budgets of 378,417 low-income households in state fiscal year 2018. Nearly half those households included children under 18 years old. Oklahoma public schools erved a total of 80,221,192 free or reduced-priced meals in fiscal year 2017. Eligible households do not need to submit an application for the P-EBT program. Benefits will automatically issue to qualified families on one EBT card. Households believing to be eligible, but do not receive P-EBT benefits by August 30, 2020, are encouraged to contact OKDHS at 405-522-5050. OKDHS is asking that those with questions or concerns regarding their eligibility wait until after August 30, before calling.
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Lori Merhib
Banner School
2455 N. Banner Rd.
El Reno, OK 73036
(405) 262-0598 Phone Ext 204