P-EBT News Release
September 30, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sarah Biles
C: 913.216.8596
sbiles@harvesters.org
Missouri families have limited time to still access Pandemic EBT benefits
Benefits can help feed hungry children across the state
(Kansas City, MO)—The state of Missouri is re-opening for less than two weeks the application for low-income families with school-age students to receive food benefits they missed this summer. The application deadline is Sunday, October 10.
The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Program (P-EBT) is a federal COVID-19 relief program that provided $375 per child over the summer to purchase groceries. Children certified to receive free or reduced-price breakfast or lunch are eligible for P-EBT. In addition, children who attend schools who operate under “community eligibility” (meaning the entire school received free meals prior to COVID-19) are also eligible for P-EBT benefits. To find out if a school has the Community Eligibility Provision, go to the Food Research and Action Center website: https://frac.org/community-eligibility-database/.
The USDA allowed Missouri to re-open its P-EBT application, in part because the initial response rate was quite low.
Missouri’s Department of Social Services, which administers the P-EBT program, estimated it would serve nearly 289,000 children, based on the state’s enrollment in the free and reduced-price meal programs. However, Missouri only approved 19,000 applications for just 36,000 children. That means the summer 2021 P-EBT program served less than 13 percent of eligible Missouri children.
“Having access to nutritious food is vital for growing children to thrive,” said Valerie Nicholson-Watson, president and CEO of Harvesters—The Community Food Network. “We encourage all Missouri families who think they might be eligible to apply for those benefits to help get their kids the nutrition they need.”
Eligible Missouri children will receive their summer 2021 benefits retroactively in one lump sum of $375 per child ($6.82 per day for the 55 days of the summer program). The benefits are provided on an electronic benefits card and can only be used to purchase food in retail outlets participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The short application is available online in English and Spanish: https://mydss.mo.gov
The completed application should be submitted electronically or mailed to DSS. It must be postmarked by October 9 (October 10 is a Sunday so postal service is not available), or submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on October 10.
“We hope all eligible Missouri families will take advantage of this federal support that will help them feed their children, and also support our local grocery stores,” said Nicholson-Watson. If the P-EBT program was fully utilized by all eligible children in Missouri, it would bring nearly $95 million to the state to feed hungry children and support the local economy.
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About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters is a regional food serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 760 nonprofit agencies including food pantries, community kitchens, shelters and others. Agencies in Harvesters’ network provide food assistance to as many as 141,500 different people each month. Harvesters, which was founded in 1979, is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.