Parent or Guardian,
The State of Illinois is approved to provide new Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer Program (P-EBT) benefits to all eligible Illinois students. Families in our district may qualify for P-EBT because we are a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). You do not need to complete an application to receive these benefits. Please note that citizenship status does not affect eligibility.
What is P-EBT? The purpose of P-EBT is to provide food assistance to families with students who would have received free or reduced lunch while attending school but are not receiving these meals in school due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Who is eligible for P-EBT benefits? The following students are eligible for P-EBT benefits for School Year 2020-21.
- Students must be enrolled in an eligible NSLP participating Illinois school and;
- Students must be determined eligible to receive free/reduced lunch for the 2020-21 school year or enrolled in a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school and;
- Students are P-EBT eligible on school days in which a reimbursable meal was not provided to the student to consume at school. If “grab and go meals” are provided to students, this does not exclude these students from participating or being eligible for the P-EBT program.
When will I receive the benefits? The Department of Human Services should begin issuing new P-EBT cards to all known eligible students in March 2021. Please note that all eligible students will receive benefits for all eligible school days, back to the beginning of this school year. The cards will be mailed to the address you provided to the school when you registered your child.
We hope this answers some of your questions.