Information about Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT
p-ebt is a federal food program. The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), in partnership with the California Department of Education (CDE), received approval to operate the program in response to COVID-19-related school and daycare closures. p-ebt provides food benefits to help families with young children (under 6 years old) who received calfresh food benefits between October 2020 and August 2021 and school-age children who were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals through the federal or national school breakfast. school lunch program for the 2020-21 school year, and it is assumed that you have attended school via distance learning at least some of that time.
For additional information, visit the p-ebt website at https://ca.p-ebt.org/.
p-ebt 2.0 eligibility
young children are eligible for p-ebt 2.0 if between October 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021:
- from 0 to 6 years; and
- part of a household receiving fresh calf food benefits; and
- live in a county where at least one school is closed or limits in-person instruction.
school-age children are eligible for p-ebt 2.0 if:
- enrolled in a school for the 2020-21 school year that participated in the federal school breakfast program or national school lunch program; and
- eligible for free or reduced price meals for the 2020-21 school year; and
- assumed to have attended school through all distance learning or a hybrid of all distance learning and in-person learning at least a few days a week during the 2020-21 school year .
p-ebt 2.0 cards for eligible toddlers who received calfresh between October 2020 and January 2021 were automatically mailed from early July 2021 through August 2021. p-ebt 2.0 cards for eligible toddlers at school age cards will be automatically mailed beginning of august 2021 through november 2021. p-ebt 2.0 cards for eligible toddlers who received calfresh between february 2021 and may 2021 will be automatically mailed beginning november 2021 All remaining cards for both age groups will be mailed out in December 2021.
Cards will be mailed by age group in alphabetical order based on the eligible child’s first name. there is no p-ebt 2.0 app.
children eligible for free school meals based on their attendance at a school where all children can receive free breakfast, lunch, or both, are also eligible for p-ebt. this is true even if the child did not individually apply for free or reduced-price school meals.
Families who feel they do not need p-ebt benefits can opt out of accepting p-ebt benefits by destroying their card before use.
do not throw away your card as it will be reloaded with additional benefits. each eligible child will receive their own p-ebt 2.0 card.
p-ebt 2.0 not:
- require registration or an application;
- impact other benefits you may be receiving;
- impact immigration or make the recipient a public charge;
For more information, visit the p-ebt website at https://ca.p-ebt.org/
summer price
california summer p-ebt plan approved! all eligible children will receive a standard summer p-ebt benefit of $375, to be loaded onto existing p-ebt 2.0 cards in december 2021. school-aged children who were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals at a school participating in the federal meal programs at the end of the 2020-21 school year will be eligible to receive summer p-ebt benefits. california also allowed families to apply for free and reduced price meals to become eligible for summer p-ebt during the summer. toddlers who receive fresh veal food benefits will also receive summer p-ebt benefits.
p-ebt help
families who have already received a p-ebt card and need help with pin setup, need to request a replacement card, or did not receive their card in the mail as expected, can contact the p-ebt helpline at (877) 328-9677 (Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) for help.
Families who have not received a p-ebt card but have questions about their p-ebt eligibility can also contact the p-ebt helpline at (877) 328-9677 (Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.). to 8 p.m.).
program history
Before p-ebt 2.0, there was p-ebt 1.0 and the p-ebt extension.
p-ebt 1.0
p-ebt 1.0 benefits were provided to children who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the 2019-2020 school year at a school that participates in the federal school breakfast program or the national lunch program school. p-ebt 1.0 benefits have now been issued to all eligible children.
p-ebt extension
California was also authorized to provide additional P-EBT food benefits for the months of August and September 2020. This is known as the “P-EBT extension”. children were eligible for extended p-ebt benefits if:
- previously received p-ebt benefits for the 2019-20 school year;
- attended a california school that participated in the federal school breakfast and national school lunch programs for the school year 2020-21; and
- It was assumed that they would attend school virtually or through a hybrid model of virtual and in-person instruction for the 2020-21 school year.
under the p-ebt extension, each eligible child received a new p-ebt card with p-ebt benefits for the months of august and september 2020. these new p-ebt cards were mailed directly to families from end of October to end of December. Eligible families did not need to apply to receive P-EBT extension benefits.
Families who received p-ebt extension benefits will get a small supplement during the months of august and september 2020 for parity with newly eligible children for p-ebt 2.0. families who did not receive p-ebt extension benefits, but were recently determined to be eligible for p-ebt 2.0, will get benefits for august and september 2020 with their p-ebt 2.0 benefits for the remainder of the school year 2020-21.