What is P-EBT, and Why Was it Necessary?

What is P-EBT?

The P-EBT program was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to address food insecurity among school age children due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act authorized state agencies to create emergency plans to provide nutrition assistance to eligible students when a school is closed for at least five days due a public health emergency. Students were eligible if they were already enrolled in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This program provides free, or low-cost, nutritionally balanced meals to children throughout the school year. In 2018, the NSLP served over 4.8 billion meals to 29.7 million children nationwide. However, when in-person schools were closed due to the pandemic, children no longer had access to NSLP meals.

Households that were already enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and receiving Electronic Benefit Payments (EBT) were eligible for additional EBT funds. Households that did not previously receive SNAP, and in which there was at least one eligible child, were issued a new EBT card to receive funds. The benefit amounts were set to no less than the value of five free meals that each child would have been eligible for had they been in school. The P-EBT program was authorized through fiscal year 2020, and the United States Department of Agriculture was authorized to appropriate the required funds.

Because this program is administered by the states, each state submitted unique applications to the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The details and implementation of each program varies by state. As a result, some states were able to mobilize quickly and launch their programs in March and April, while others took longer to put together an application and have yet to stand up a P-EBT program.

Why was P-EBT necessary?

Food insecurity has doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Families with children are particularly at risk, with over 34.4% of households with children under the age of 12 experiencing food insecurity.

One of the main tools open to policymakers before the pandemic to combat child hunger was the NSLP. As schools closed, this important source of nutritional assistance for children was cut off. Federal policymakers recognized that families would need access to additional resources to navigate the loss of free lunch.