The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which includes $40 million to make the pandemic-era summer EBT (P-EBT) program for qualified school children to be permanent was approved by The House voted 225 to 201 on Friday.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which includes $40 million to make the pandemic-era summer EBT (P-EBT) program for qualified school children to be permanent was approved by The House voted 225 to 201 on Friday.
Summer EBT Program To Be Made Permanent
The P-EBT program, was available during summer when school is out of session, it gives eligible students benefits listed below:
- Up to $40 per child monthly in a temporary emergency nutrition benefits deposited at EBT cards that are used to purchase food.
- Grab-and-go or delivery options for summer foods in remote areas.
- Meals for up to 10 days can be taken home rather than having to consume them all at meal places.
- P-EBT benefits are available to children who would have received free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Act had their schools not been closed, operating with fewer students, or operating with fewer students, or operating with reduced hours for at least five consecutive days.
- Benefits to young children in a family that participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) whose covered child care facility is closed or operating with less hours or attendance, or who live in the area of schools that are closed or operating with reduced hours or attendance.
- In states with an a n approved SY 2021-22 plan for school children and/or children in child care, P-EBT is available to all school children who were eligible to receive free or reduced price meals during the current school year, as well as to to school children who are newly determined eligible for meal benefits during the summer months
- P-EBT is available to all children ages 6 years and below who are enrolled in SNAP during the summer.
The Pandemic-era Summer EBT Benefits
The pandemic-era summer EBT benefits will be made permanent that will bring great relief to millions of families. The initiative has been highly effective reducing food insecurity. During pandemic hardship dropped drastically after pandemic relief measures were put into place in late 2020 and early 2021, but it has been climbing since the summer of 2021, the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey found. Among households with children, nearly 12 million adults said in early May 2022 that their households didn’t have enough to eat during the previous week, an increase of 4.1 million from early August 2021. The bill also includes $30 million for school kitchen equipment grants and $3 million for school breakfast expansion grants.
