Over 500K Alabama students qualify for summer P-EBT benefits

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Children who receive free or reduced-price school meals from the National School Lunch Program will soon be eligible for Summer Pandemic EBT benefits.

Qualifying households will receive $120 to purchase SNAP-eligible food at stores that accept EBT cards. Brandon Hardin with the Alabama Department of Human Resources says with rising costs in grocery stores he hopes families can experience some relief.

“The price at the store is up for many individuals and they all face some hard decisions,” Hardin said. “We’re hoping that this money will allow individuals to make those decisions a little bit easier over the summer months and provide some relief to those families.”

The benefits are expected to start rolling out in mid-to-late summer.

Shirley Schofield with the Food Bank of North Alabama says these benefits will provide a huge relief to families especially during the summer months.

“There’s always that challenge with making sure that they have three meals a day while they’re away from school, so having an ability to get the food and provide it at your home without having that extra burden is going to be really helpful for them,” Schofield said.

The Summer P-EBT benefits are limited to students who are eligible for the National School Lunch Program. Families can apply for the program through their designated school. Families with eligible students who received P-EBT in the past will access the benefits on their existing EBT cards. Those who are new to the program will receive EBT cards in the mail.

“Food insecurity itself will not be just completely alleviated with $120 per kid but this goes a long way in helping individuals access those benefits,” Hardin said.

Applications for the lunch program must be approved by May 16 to qualify for the Summer P-EBT.

To learn more about P-EBT click here.

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