Due to COVID-19, children who are eligible for free or reduced price school meals will get extra food benefits. These food benefits are called P-EBT. P-EBT benefits help Washington families buy food when schools are closed or have reduced in-person attendance.

Children are eligible for P-EBT benefits if:

• Their school is closed or has reduced in-person attendance hours.
• They are eligible for free or reduced price school meals.

Yes. P-EBT benefits are additional food benefits. Children may continue to receive grab-and-go meals at school or community sites or emergency food at COVID-19 emergency feeding sites offered at community locations, even if they are receiving P-EBT benefits.

The school year 2019-20 P-EBT program originally provided food benefits to eligible school aged children for the months of March, April, May and June 2020. Households applied for these benefits and if determined eligible, they received a standard benefit amount issued by lump sum on a (Quest) EBT card.

Washington State has received federal approval to issue P-EBT benefits for children in school for school year 2020-21 from September 2020 to June 2021. We automated the eligibility process to get more households the assistance they need during the COVID-19 public health emergency. This means households do not have to apply for the 2020-21 P-EBT program.

P-EBT benefits can be used like a debit card to buy food in most grocery stores and farmers markets, or to buy food online at Amazon or Walmart.

Great news: Families don’t have to apply for the P-EBT Program! If your child is eligible for free or reduced price school meals, they may automatically qualify. Families should ensure their current mailing address is on file with the child’s school and are encouraged to fill out a school meal application if their child doesn’t get free or reduced price meals already.

Eligible children will receive a notice and a P-EBT card with their name on it. We anticipate the notice to be sent to eligible children beginning late March. The P-EBT card will be mailed shortly after. Families should keep their cards as more benefits may be added later if their school continues to be closed or have reduced hours.

Yes. If a child is determined eligible, we will issue P-EBT benefits back to the beginning of the 2020-21 school year or the month the school became eligible and through January 2021. Benefits for these months will be issued in March 2021; however, families may not receive their card until the end of April. The amounts may vary for each child based on their respective school learning models. Benefits for February through the end of the school year will be issued every other month.

Benefit amounts vary depending on the learning model of their child’s school for each given month. The monthly benefit amount will range from $25 to $123.

P-EBT cards will be mailed to the address on file with the school. Contact your school to ensure they have your current mailing address.

Families submitting school meal applications with a current address should also update the address with the school. School meal systems and student information systems may not be the same.

Eligible children should expect to receive a notice by late March, which will contain more information. The P-EBT card will be mailed separately in the following weeks. 

Follow the instructions that come with your P-EBT card and create your secure Personal Identification Number or PIN. Keep your card! If your school stays in a remote learning environment, has reduced attendance days or is closed due to COVID-19, we may add more benefits to your card.

Yes, families should keep each child's P-EBT card. The first issuance will include benefits for the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. Future benefits will automatically be loaded on existing cards. Cards should be kept in a safe place.

If your family is facing homelessness and your child is eligible for P-EBT, you can request your P-EBT card be sent to a different address that you can access (i.e. your child’s school). Call your school to make necessary arrangements for pick-up of the P-EBT card.  

If you have not received your card by May 2021, we recommend to check with your child’s school to ensure they have your current mailing address. It is possible that a P-EBT card was mailed to an old address. Or, if your address is not the problem, you can call the P-EBT Contact Center at 833-518-0282.

No. The P-EBT is a unique program and these benefits will be kept separately from your other benefits available on your EBT card.

Most children active on food assistance are automatically certified for free school meals, but they don’t automatically qualify for P-EBT benefits. P-EBT eligibility will depend on the school the child attends and their learning model. Please make sure your address is up to date with your school to receive benefits.

Some families get a $0 food benefit amount and keep their case open for access to other resources. Families that receive $0 in food assistance are not automatically certified for free school meals and must apply for free or reduced-price meals by contacting their child’s school.

No. Benefits are provided to the child and immigration is not required to apply for this program.

If you need more food assistance or cash assistance, you can call the Department of Social and Health Services to apply for benefits at 877-501-2233 or visit www.washingtonconnection.org. If you need emergency food assistance, call 2-1-1.

• The OSPI Organizations Providing Meals Map can help families find locations serving meals to children. Participating in these meal services does not prevent eligible children from getting P-EBT benefits.
• Contact your local school district to learn about free meal site locations in your area. These meal programs are available to all children 18 and under, regardless of what school they attend.
• You can go to washingtonconnection.org to see if you qualify to get Basic Food benefits.    
• If you have any younger children, you may also qualify for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which provides food assistance to children up to the age of 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers: https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/WIC.

We encourage households determined eligible for P-EBT to use the benefits for your family and to help boost the local economy. Benefits are not transferrable and cannot be gifted or donated. If you still wish to decline the benefits, you may destroy the card or return the card to the address on the back of the card. Benefits will be automatically removed after 274 days of non-use.