2020-2021 Pandemic Eligibility Benefits Transfer (P-EBT)

Date:  May 20, 2021
Subject: 2020-2021 Pandemic Eligibility Benefits Transfer (P-EBT)
Category: COVID-19 Student Pandemic Benefits
Next Steps:  1) Share with appropriate staff; 2) collaborate with district and campus personnel to communicate to families

 

Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) provides food benefits to families with enrolled students (up to 21 years of age) who temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals for the 2020–2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Texas Education Agency (TEA), Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), and Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) request that schools attempt to contact eligible families before the application opens on June 2, 2021. Thank you for your assistance with the P-EBT program. We appreciate all the work you do to help make sure Texas families have access to food during this time. 

To apply, go to yourtexasbenefits.com/Learn/PEBT (application link is case-sensitive). The deadline to apply is August 13, 2021. 

Who is Eligible? 

  • Students who are certified for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). 
  • Students who attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 (P2) school that offers free meals to all students. 
  • Children born after August 1, 2014, in families who received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for at least one month between October 2020 and June 2021. 

Who Needs to Apply? 

  • A parent/guardian must apply if the eligible student is:
    • Enrolled in K-12 and NOT part of a family who received SNAP benefits for at least one month between August 2020 and June 2021. 
    • Born on or before August 1, 2014, and is part of a family who received SNAP benefits for the first time during the 2020–2021 school year in May or June 2021. 
       
  • A parent/guardian does not have to apply if eligible student or child is:
    • Born on or before August 1, 2014, and is part of a family who received SNAP benefits for at least one month between August 2020 and April 2021. 
    • Born after August 1, 2014, and is part of a family who received SNAP benefits for at least one month between October 2020 and June 2021. 

Please use the following resources before the application closes on August 13, 2021 to inform eligible families. (Access them at TEA’s COVID-19 Support: Child Nutrition webpage at https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/covid/covid-19-support-child-nutrition.) 

  • Letter to families with application link (English and Spanish) 
  • Flyer (English and Spanish) 
  • Social media posts (English and Spanish) 
  • Robocall/Robotext script (English and Spanish) 

For more information, visit hhs.texas.gov/pebt (English) or hhs.texas.gov/es/pebt (Spanish), or call the P-EBT Call Center at 833-442-1255, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Central time.