PANDEMIC ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER (P-EBT)

Delaware's P-EBT Program provides food assistance to families with children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures or reduced in-person attendance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. P-EBT was available because of the COVID-19 public health emergency and will end after the Summer 2023 benefits are issued.

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 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 or have reduced in-person attendance.

Delaware's P-EBT Call Center: 1-866-843-7212

SUMMER P-EBT 2023

The Division of Social Services is issuing retroactive Summer P-EBT benefits for eligible school-age children for Summer 2023.

Summer P-EBT Eligibility Rules

The following children are eligible for the Summer P-EBT benefit:

1. Children who were enrolled in a Delaware school and were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals during the last month of the 2022-2023 school year. This includes children who graduated at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
2. Children who were determined newly eligible for free or reduce-price school meals be August 4, 2023 and were enrolled in a Delaware school during the 2022-2023 school year.

Summer P-EBT Benefit Amount and Schedule

Households will receive the standard summer P-EBT benefit of $120.00 for each eligible child in their home. This is a one-time benefit issuance that covers all months in Summer 2023

P-EBT benefit period	P-EBT benefit amount for each eligible child	Date Benefits will be Available on EBT Cards
Summer 2023	$120.00	October 20, 2023

If the Division of Social Services receives P-EBT eligibility information about your child late, you will receive the Summer P-EBT benefit on November 3, 2023, or a later date.

The Summer P-EBT benefit will automatically be loaded to families SNAP EBT cards or P-EBT cards. Newly eligible Non-SNAP households will receive a P-EBT card in the mail.

P-EBT SCHOOL YEAR 2022-2023

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Children enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade at a Delaware school are eligible for P-EBT if they meet the following two conditions:

1. The child attends a Delaware school in school year 2022-2023 that qualified for P-EBT because the school closed or operated with reduced attendance or hours for 5 consecutive days
2. The child is certified either directly, through categorical eligibility, or through an application to receive free or reduced-price school meals for the current school year or attends a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school where all students receive free school meals as part of the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program AND
3. The child is not able to receive free or reduced-price meals at school because of the following COVID-related reasons:
   • The child has an excused absence due to a positive case of COVID, potential exposure, school-ordered quarantine, COVID testing, or another approved COVID reason; or
   • The child is attending school virtually due to a positive case of COVID, potential exposure, school-ordered quarantine, COVID testing, or another approved COVID reason; or
   • The child is attending a fully virtual school program or is homeschooled in school year 2022-2023 because of concerns about COVID.

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

Each month, Delaware schools report to the Division of Social Services the students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals and the number of COVID-related absent days or virtual school days for each student. The Division of Social Services uses this P-EBT eligibility information to issue benefits.

P-EBT Application for Homeschooled and Virtual Students - School Year 2022-2023

If your child was homeschooled or attended virtual school because of concerns about COVID in school year 2022-2023, you may be eligible for P-EBT.

You must complete and return Delaware's P-EBT Application for Homeschooled and Virtual Students by October 31, 2023.

P-EBT Application for Homeschooled and Virtual Students EnglishSpanish

BENEFIT AMOUNTS

Households will receive $8.18 for each school day that their child did not receive meals at school because the school was closed or the child had an excused absence or attended school virtually due to a COVID-related reason.

The P-EBT benefit amount equals the federal reimbursement rate for breakfast, lunch, and a snack of $8.18 per child per eligible school day. Households will receive P-EBT benefits for all eligible children in their home in monthly issuances. Household will NOT receive P-EBT for the days that their children attended school in-person and received meals at school or for absent days that are not due to COVID.

P-EBT monthly benefit calculation:

$8.18 x Number of COVID-related absent days and/or virtual school days = Monthly P-EBT benefit amount

Children attending a fully virtual school program or homeschool:

An eligible child who is attending a fully virtual school program or homeschool will receive a standard P-EBT benefit amount of $147.24 each month that the child attends school virtually or homeschool for the full month. The benefit amount equals $8.18 x 18 school days per month. The monthly benefit amount for May 2023 will be $73.62 because the P-EBT program ended on May 11, 2023. The benefit amount equals $8.18 x 9 school days in May 2023.

Schools that are unable to track COVID-related absences:

Some Delaware schools are unable to track COVID-related absences in their attendance systems. If a child attends a school that is unable to track COVID-related absences, the child will receive P-EBT benefits for the excused absences of 5 or more consecutive school days. The households would need to contact the child's school to report COVID-related absences of 1-4 school days.

MONTHLY P-EBT BENEFIT SCHEDULE

P-EBT Benefit Months	Date benefits will be available on EBT cards
Fall 2022 Benefits September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022	August 18, 2023
Spring 2023 Benefits January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023	September 27, 2023

The dates that benefits will be issued to individual households depend on when the Division of Social Services receives eligibility and attendance data from each school.

Some households may experience a delay in receiving benefits, and benefits may become available within 2 or more weeks from the monthly issuance date.

P-EBT FOR CHILDREN UNDER AGE 6

Delaware's P-EBT Program also provides P-EBT benefits to families receiving SNAP food benefits with children under the age of 6. Eligible SNAP households will receive P-EBT for the 2022-2023 school year.

A child under the age of 6 is eligible for this P-EBT benefit if two conditions are met:

1. The child is a member of a household that received SNAP food benefits in the P-EBT benefit month.
2. The child lived in an area where one or more schools were closed or operated with reduced attendance or hours because of COVID-19 (all children under the age of 6 in SNAP households in Delaware meet this condition).

Fall P-EBT	P-EBT Benefit Amount	Date Benefit will be Available on your EBT Card
September 2022	$35.00	August 4, 2023
October 2022	$35.00	August 4, 2023
November 2022	$35.00	August 4, 2023
December 2022	$35.00	August 4, 2023

Spring P-EBT	P-EBT Benefit Amount	Date Benefit will be Available on your EBT card
January 2023	$31.00	September 8, 2023
February 2023	$31.00	September 8, 2023
March 2023	$31.00	September 8, 2023
April 2023	$31.00	September 8, 2023
May 2023	$15.50*	September 8, 2023

*May 2023 is a partial benefit month because the federal COVID-19 public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023.

SNAP households will receive the P-EBT benefit for each child under the age of 6 in their household. For each eligible child under age 6, the SNAP household will receive a standard benefit amount for each month that the household received SNAP food benefits.

CARD INFORMATION

P-EBT benefits will automatically be loaded onto SNAP EBT cards and P-EBT cards. The P-EBT benefits for all eligible children in a household will be loaded to EBT and P-EBT card in monthly installments (see the Monthly P-EBT Benefit Schedule).

• SNAP households will receive their P-EBT benefits on their existing SNAP EBT card.
• Non-SNAP households who received P-EBT before will receive P-EBT benefits on the P-EBT card that was mailed to them in a previous school year.
• Newly eligible Non-SNAP households will receive a new P-EBT card in the mail. The P-EBT card will be mailed on the benefit issuance date and may take up to 1-4 weeks to be delivered to the address on file with the school. The P-EBT card will come with information on how to activate the card and create a 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 274 days if you do not use your card and benefits. It is illegal to buy, sell, or trade an EBT card or benefits.

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

RESOURCES

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

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.

If your family needs food assistance:

• Contact Delaware 2-1-1
• Apply online for Delaware's Food Supplement Program at Delaware ASSIST

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis or race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the agency (state or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800)877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (833)620-1071, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to:

1. Mail:

   Food and Nutrition Service, USDA

   1320 Braddock Place, Room 334

   Alexandria, VA 22614; or

2. Fax:

   (833)256-1665 or (202)690-7442; or

3. Email:

   FNSCIVILRIGHTSCOMPLAINTS@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.