LINCOLN – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) has announced that Nebraska has been approved to disburse a third round of Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits, with the first issuance taking place on April 15. P-EBT is a program authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provides assistance to families of children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and impacted by school closures. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), is overseeing the disbursement of benefits.
Five benefit issuances will be included in the third round of P-EBT with the first being April 15 and the last being August 15. Benefit amounts will be the same for each month for full-time and part-time remote learners.
Families who qualify for the third round of P-EBT, and already possess an EBT card, will have their benefits automatically loaded on to their EBT card. Families who do not currently possess an EBT card will have an all-white P-EBT card mailed to them. Students who were 100% remote learning will receive $116 dollars per month, and part-time remote learners will receive $62 per month. Families with questions about their eligibility should contact their school; questions about the P-EBT program should be directed to dhhs.nebraskapebt@nebraska.gov.
School districts are reporting the eligibility of students to NDE. Parents may check the Launch Nebraska site, https://www.launchne.com/status/, to see what has been reported as the classroom learning mode for their school. Only students reported eligible from their school district will receive P-EBT benefits. If a student opted for remote learning this school year and does not receive benefits, parents should contact the school district to clarify why their student did not receive benefits. If a student did not participate in remote learning during the 20/21 school year, they are not eligible for P-EBT benefits.
Receiving P-EBT benefits will not affect a family’s ability to receive other benefits, and benefits will be good for one year after receiving them. P-EBT benefits can be used to buy food at grocery stores and farmer’s markets that accept SNAP EBT, and to purchase groceries online at Amazon, Aldi and Walmart.
