DELAWARE'S P-EBT PROGRAM

PANDEMIC ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER (P-EBT)

**IMPORTANT P-EBT UPDATE**

Eligible families were originally scheduled to receive March and April P-EBT benefits by the week of May 18, 2020. These P-EBT benefits will be provided at a later date to some families due to unexpected curcumstances. Families do not need to take any action to receive P-EBT benefits. A P-EBT card will automatically be mailed to families in the coming weeks. We apologize for this inconvenience and are working to provide P-EBT benefits to eligible familes as soon as possible.

Non-SNAP families may receive their P-EBT benefts on a regular SNAP EBT card. For information on how to activate your new EBT card, click here for English or here for Spanish

Delaware's P-EBT Program provides food assistance to families with children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals when Delaware schools closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as well as families who do not receive SNAP may participate in the P-EBT Program if they have eligible children in their households.

Families will receive P-EBT benefits on their existing SNAP EBT card or a new P-EBT card. Families can use their P-EBT benefits to buy eligible food items at stores and farmer's markets that accept SNAP EBT to help feed their children while schools are closed.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To qualify for P-EBT benefits, children must:

1. Be enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade at a Delaware school that participates in the National School Lunch Program AND
2. Be eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals when schools are open OR attend a school where all students receive free school meals (CEP/Community Eligibility Provision schools)

Families are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits for each child in their household who qualifies for the P-EBT Program based on these two conditions.

Families do NOT need to apply for P-EBT benefits. Eligible families are automatically enrolled in the P-EBT Program and will be notified by mail. Families will receive detailed information on the P-EBT Program and how to use P-EBT benefits to purchase food.

BENEFIT AMOUNTS

Families will receive $5.70 for each day that schools are closed for each child in their household who is participating in the free and reduced-price school meals program. Delaware schools will be closed for an average of 65 school days.

Please Note: Families who started paricipating in the school meals program after March 16, 2020 will receive P-EBT benefits beginning from their start date for free or reduced-price school meals.

Month	School Closure Days	P-EBT Calculation	P-EBT Monthly Benefit
March 2020	March 16-31 (12 days)	$5.70 x 12 days	$68.40 per child
April 2020	April 1-30 (22 days)	$5.70 x 22 days	$125.40 per child
May 2020	May 1-31 (21 days)	$5.70 x 21 days	$119.70 per child
June 2020	June 1-12 (10 days)	$5.70 x 10 days	$57.00 per child

Month	P-EBT Benefit Amount	Date Loaded to EBT Card
March AND April 2020	$193.80 per child	SNAP Households: Week of May 11, 2020 Non-SNAP Households: Week of May 18, 2020
May 2020	$119.70 per child	SNAP Households: May 26, 2020 Non-SNAP Households: May 27, 2020
June 2020	$57.00 per child	SNAP Households: June 23, 2020 Non-SNAP Households: June 24, 2020

CARD INFORMATION

P-EBT benefits will automatically be loaded onto a family's existing SNAP EBT card or onto one or more new P-EBT card(s). The P-EBT benefits for all of the eligible children in the household will be loaded to the card in three installments in May and June (see the monthly P-EBT Benefit Schedule).

Most SNAP households will receive their P-EBT benefits on their SNAP EBT card. Families that are getting a new P-EBT card will receive a card in the mail in mid-May with March and April P-EBT benefits pre-loaded on the card. The P-EBT card will come with information on how to activate the card and create a private Personal Identification Number(PIN).

SNAP EBT and P-EBT cards operate like a debit card. You can purchase SNAP eligible foods at stores and farmer's markets authorized to accept SNAP EBT. Select EBT, swipe your card, and then enter your private PIN.

FAMILIES WHO DO NOT WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE P-EBT PROGRAM SHOULD IMMEDIATELY DESTROY THEIR P-EBT CARD THAT WAS MAILED TO THEM BY CUTTING UP THE CARD AND SECURELY DISPOSING OF IT.

P-EBT benefits are non-transferable and will expire in 365 days. It is illegal to buy, sell, or trade and EBT card or benefits.

Go to ConnectEBT.com or call 1-800-526-9099 for questions about EBT card balances, PINS, or replacement cards.

RESOURCES

P-EBT Flyer: English or Spanish

P-EBT Questions & Answers: English or Spanish

P-EBT Card Instructions: English or Spanish

Click here for a list of foods you can buy with P-EBT benefits.

Click here to find a store near you that accepts SNAP EBT and P-EBT cards.

Click here for Department of Education Student Nutrition Sites. Families who receive P-EBT benefits may continue to pick-up meals from the Student Nutrition Sites located throughout Delaware.

Click here for the latest Division of Social Services COVID-19 program updates.

Click here to watch Raymond Fitzgerald, Director of the Division of Social Services, moderate a Q&A session with Aimee Beam of the Department of Education, and Marcella Spady of Social Services, about Pandemic EBT benefits in Delaware.

CONTACT INFORMATION

DELAWARE'S P-EBT PROGRAM

Please contact the Division of Social Services at 1-866-843-7212 if you have questions about Delaware's P-EBT Program.

DELAWARE'S SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM

Please contact the Nutrition Department for your child's school district, charter school, or private school for information on how to apply for free or reduced-price school meals. You may be able to apply online by going to your school district's website. Families will need to meet certain eligibility criteria to participate in the School Nutrition Program.

Click here and select School Nutrition Sponsor Contacts to find out if your school participates in the School Nutrition Program and offers free or reduced-price meals.

General questions related to eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals may be emailed to schoolnutrition@doe.k12.de.us.

PLEASE NOTE: If your child attends a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school where all students receive free meals, you no NOT need to apply for free or reduced-price school meals. All students at CEP schools are automatically eligible for P-EBT benefits. Click here for a list of Delaware's CEP schools.