Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Funds May Be Available for BPS Families
June 23, 2020
Nebraska has been approved to operate the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), a new program authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provides assistance to families of children who are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals and impacted by school closures. The program will be managed in partnership by DHHS and NDE and will begin processing applications on June 22. Although NDE is communicating this information to school districts, if you have an established relationship with a school district it is beneficial to reach out to share the program details which are outlined in the link below.
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A brief overview: current SNAP eligible families will not need to do anything to receive the additional benefits, but those who qualify for free/reduced school meals who are not currently SNAP recipients will need to apply. Benefits will be distributed in two installments for those who qualify, one between July 28-31 and another between August 15-19.
Again, this program is available to ANYONE whose child(ren) were on free or reduced lunch this past school year. Those who are already receiving SNAP do not need to do anything additional to apply – but those who are NOT receiving SNAP have to complete a special application. The Food Bank SNAP Outreach Hotline is doing enrollment over the phone by simply calling 1-855-444-5556. Applications are completed in less than 5 minutes but they will need to have the student ID numbers of their eligible child(ren) available when they call. The enrollment period is limited to a few weeks so time is of the essence.
