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DHSS Press Release

Molly Magarik, Secretary
Jill Fredel, Director of Communications
302-255-9047, Cell 302-357-7498
Email: Jill.Fredel@delaware.gov

DPH Media Contact:
Mary Fenimore
Email: DPHMedia@Delaware.gov

Date: June 1, 2022
DHSS-6-2022

DELAWARE'S P-EBT PROGRAM EXPANDED TO CHILDREN UNDER AGE 6 IN HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING SNAP

Eligible SNAP Households Will Receive P-EBT Emergency Food Assistance on June 3

NEW CASTLE (June 1, 2022) - Delaware families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits will get emergency food assistance through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program for children under the age of 6 living in their households. Eligible SNAP households will receive P-EBT for the 2021-2022 school year (September 2021 through June 2022).

The Division of Social Services is issuing the Fall 2021 P-EBT benefit on June 3 for children under the age of 6. A child is eligible for this P-EBT benefit if three conditions were met from September through December 2021:

The child was under the age of 6.
The child was a member of a household that received SNAP food benefits.
The child lived in an area where one or more schools were closed or operated with reduced attendance or hours because of COVID-19.

The Fall 2021 P-EBT benefit covers the months of September, October, November, and December 2021. For each eligible child under age 6, the SNAP household will receive a standard benefit amount of $35 per month for each month from September through December 2021 that the household received SNAP food benefits.

SNAP households will receive P-EBT benefits on their existing SNAP EBT cards and can use their P-EBT benefits just like SNAP food benefits to buy eligible food items at stores and farmer's markets that accept SNAP EBT. Households will receive the Fall 2021 P-EBT benefit for all children under the age of 6 in their home on June 3. Households will receive P-EBT benefits only for children under the age of 6 for the months that the household received SNAP food benefits during the P-EBT period.

"We are grateful that so many of Delaware's youngest students were able to return to in-person learning during the 2021-22 school year," said Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Molly Magarik. "For those whose families missed in-person classes because schools switched to virtual classes during periods of the Delta and Omicron surges, the Pandemic EBT emergency food benefit is a way to make up for those missed meals. We also offer our thanks to Delaware's congressional delegation for extending this important federal food benefit to our youngest children."

The Division of Social Services estimates that it will issue $5.5 million in P-EBT benefits to families of approximately 15,850 children under the age of 6 in SNAP households during the 2021-2022 school year.

Eligible SNAP households will receive written notification in the mail regarding P-EBT benefits. Households do not need to take any action to receive P-EBT benefits.

The Division of Social Services will issue Spring 2022 P-EBT benefits at a later time.

SNAP households that include school-age children who are eligible for P-EBT will continue to receive P-EBT benefits for those children on the scheduled benefit issuance dates. Check Delaware's P-EBT website for details.

Please contact the Division of Social Services at 1-866-843-7212 if you have questions about Delaware's P-EBT Program. More information about the program can be found at: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dss/pebt.html

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.

DELAWARE'S P-EBT PROGRAM EXPANDED TO CHILDREN UNDER AGE 6 IN HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING SNAP

Delaware's Government