Nevada families getting more money on their P-EBT cards

Nevada families who relied on the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) card, which previously provided a one-time additional benefit for students receiving free and reduced-price meals, are now receiving another round of food aid for the 2021-22 school year.

The first set of additional benefits went out September 14-23.  A second set of benefits will go out October 14-23, and the third set will go out November 14-23. Another set of benefits meant to cover the summer period will be distributed from December 14-23.

According to the state, Nevada distributed more than $149 million in P-EBT benefits to 389,103 families during the first round of additional Pandemic EBT. Those benefits covered meals missed from August 2020 to November 2020 due to school and childcare closures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service approved the state’s extension for additional P-EBT benefits on August 19.

The federal benefit will provide eligible, low-income children in Nevada who lost access to free and reduced-cost meals when schools or childcare first shut down during the pandemic. This time, the benefit will provide up to $136.40 per child if the school was conducting full-time distance learning and summer benefits distributed in December will provide $375 to all eligible children. 

For schools conducting hybrid distance and in-person learning, the benefit amount will depend on how many days the school offered distance learning only, and the rate is $6.82 per day of distance-only learning.

Nevada estimates it will have issued about $523.4 million in food benefits to school children and children in child care who missed school due to closures and reductions in attendance from August 2020 through June 2021. An additional $126.7 million P-EBT benefits will be distributed to approximately 338,000 school children, and $22.0 million to about 59,000 SNAP-enrolled children in child care for the 2021 covered summer period. 

The benefits were issued on a new card for families who are not already receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Those P-EBT cards were mailed to the address provided by the students’ school.

The state issued 231,211 benefit cards to children who do not already receive benefits from SNAP. Another 82,235 children had their benefits directly deposited on their families EBT card.

Using the P-EBT card will not affect immigration status. While the P-EBT benefit is not considered under the Public Charge Rule, the rule was also rescinded by President Joe Biden earlier this year. Parents will also not be asked about their or their children’s immigration status to receive the cards.

Parents do not need to apply for P-EBT.

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS), which is responsible for administering the P-EBT, says that schools and childcare facilities will report to them which children meet the criteria for eligibility and whether they are on a hybrid or fully virtual learning schedule, as well as their addresses.

If students have recently changed addresses the health department recommends parents update their new address on Infinite Campus as soon as possible. Parents can also contact their local DWSS office for assistance.

P-EBT benefits expire 274 days — roughly equivalent to nine months — after the activation of the P-EBT card, so parents should use the benefits before then.

Recipients of P-EBT can check their balance and get other account information on ebtEDGE at www.ebtedge.com or download the FIS ebtEDGE mobile app.

How to use the P-EBT benefits card:

• You must activate and select a Personal Identification Number (PIN) before you can use your card.
• Follow the instructions that come with the P-EBT card and activate it using the child’s date of birth. This will allow for the creation of a private four-digit PIN number.
• If you lose or damage your card, a replacement can be requested via the ebtEDGE mobile app or call Customer Service for a replacement card.

Instructions on how to set a pin for your P-EBT card can be found here, in English and Spanish. Additional information about P-EBT is found on the DWSS website here: https://dwss.nv.gov/SNAP/PandemicEBTinfo/ 

Food Covered by P-EBT: Breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables, meats, fish, poultry, dairy products, seeds and plants that produce food.

Not covered by P-EBT: Beer, wine or liquor, cigarettes or tobacco, vitamins and medicines, food that can be eaten in-store, prepared foods, non-food items and pet food, soaps, paper products and household supplies.

Note: This article was updated to include P-EBT benefit amount for the 2021 summer covered period.