Pandemic EBT (P-EBT)

​Not all children eligible for P-EBT in the past will be eligible for this P-EBT issuance.

Only school children enrolled in a participating NSLP or CEP school who received free or reduced-price meals in May of 2023 or received SNAP, TANF or foster care between June and August 2023 are eligible for these P-EBT benefits.

Eligible children will receive a letter addressed to them in the mail followed by the arrival of their benefits. Benefits will be added onto existing P-EBT cards from the last time P-EBT b​enefits were distributed. The last benefit was distributed this spring.

Eligible children who did not receive benefits in the past will receive a new card in the mail for this issuance. Upon receiving the letter in the mail, you can expect the new card to arrive in two to four weeks.​

Students who attend online school are not eligible. To be eligible for P-EBT, children must have been eligible to receive free or reduced-price National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meals in May of 2023 or attended a Community Eligible Provision (CEP) school. Online (virtual) schools or academies are not eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program.​

Children under the age of 6 may be eligible for these P-EBT benefits if they are not receiving SNAP and:

• They attended a school participating in the NSLP as of May 2023
• They are eligible for federal free/reduced price meals or attended a CEP or Provision 2 school

Children can no longer receive SNAP and P-EBT benefits at the same time.​

• No. P-EBT is available only to children enrolled in and receiving education services in a school and who would be eligible for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). ​

f your child is eligible and previously received P-EBT earlier this summer, their benefits will be loaded onto their existing P-EBT card. If you have lost or disposed of the card, please contact the P-EBT Call Center at 844-ORE-PEBT to get a new card. Eligible children who have not received P-EBT in the past will get a letter in the mail sharing they are eligible, and a separate envelope will be mailed with a new P-EBT card.

E​ach eligible child will receive $120 on their P-EBT card, which is like a debit card. All students eligible for P-EBT benefits will receive the same benefit amount.

ODHS will start issuing P-EBT benefits between mid-August 2023 and the end of September 2023.  Most eligible children will receive a letter addressed to them in the mail, followed by the arrival of their benefits on existing P-EBT cards. Households will receive the full P-EBT benefit their children qualify for in a single issuance.

​P-EBT benefits received in 2023 expire after nine months if you have not used your card. To keep benefits from being removed, please use your P-EBT benefits regularly to purchase food.​

Starting from Fall 2023 onwards, ODHS will be issuing P-EBT benefits specifically to children under the age of 6 years old who are already receiving SNAP. ​