Governor Greg Abbott announced recently that Texas families with children would receive a fifth round of federal Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) after the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Around 3.5 million qualified children will receive a total of $1.4 billion for Covid-19 pandemic food benefits as approved by HHSC. As a press statement, the agency has distributed roughly $6.32 billion in P-EBT to families within Texas.
This move and joint effort are led by HHSC in coordination with the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Education Agency (TEA). From June to August, the initiative will grant this batch a one-time benefit worth $391 per child, which may be viewed as an alternative to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Eligibility
To receive this benefit, students must be under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or have been certified for free or discounted meals in Texas schools for this school year.
Included in this batch are children who are not recipients of P-EBT benefits this school year based on the COVID-19-related absences provided by their school.
For qualified locals who received neither SNAP nor P-EBT benefits, the state government is sending a notice via mail with a claim code.
The statement said that this code could be used to claim benefits at YourTexasBenefits.com or by calling the P-EBT Call Center at 833-442-1255. After the claiming process, families would need to wait 90 days to receive another notice for the final step.
Infants born on or after August 1,2015 who already received SNAP food benefits this year will also be granted the P-EBT benefits on their Lone Star Card this month.
Meanwhile, the guardians will receive a notice with information about the student benefit amount.
