Food for Students: MN Pandemic-EBT

School closures have been particularly hard on students who receive free and reduced-price meals, many of whom depend on the National School Lunch Program to stay nourished. In order to increase access to food, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act authorized the implementation of Pandemic EBT, a federal initiative that provides replacement food benefits to families with students 5-18. This benefit is meant to make up for the benefits that were lost by students during the time that schools were closed, March 18^th – June 4^th.

Families will receive up to $325 per child age 5 – 18 to purchase groceries. Families already enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Minnesota Family Investment Program will be issued this benefit onto the household’s existing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. Families with children enrolled in Community Eligibility Provision Schools or eligible for free or reduced-price school meals need to submit an application through the Code for America portal. The application should be filled out by June 30^th. Update: The application deadline for the P-EBT has been extended to July 31st.

If you have questions, you can call the Department of Human Services’ hotlines at 651-431-4050 or 800-657-3698. For more information, visit mngov/dhs/p-ebt.