Eligible Students will be Issued Pandemic Electronic Benefits in TN Beginning April 21, 2023

The Tennessee Department of Human Services today announced details on the distribution of Pandemic Electronic Benefit (P-EBT) Program for the 2022-2023 school year.

P-EBT is a COVID-19 relief program that provides nutritional benefits to children eligible for the National School Lunch Program who may have missed meals due to COVID-19. The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) distributes P-EBT benefits based on records provided by the Tennessee Department of Education (DOE) along with guidelines and funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service.

School Year 2022-2023 P-EBT Distribution - Eligible K-12 students who attended school in person will receive P-EBT for school meals missed between August 2022 and February 2023 of the 2022-23 school year on April 21, 2023. Benefits for this time period are available to children who:

Are eligible to receive free meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or attend a Community Eligibility Program or Provision 2 or 3 school.
Attended a school that experienced a closure or reduction of hours of 5 consecutive days.
Had a COVID-19 related excused absence documented by their school between August 2022 and February 2023.

Children are automatically enrolled in P-EBT for the 2022-2023 school year according to records provided by Tennessee schools regarding excused absences and closures related to COVID-19. No application is required.

Eligible children will receive approximately $8.18 per each COVID-19 related excused absence day. The total amount of P-EBT benefits will vary for each eligible child.

Benefits for the August 2022 through February 2023 time period will be released beginning April 21, 2023. P-EBT benefits for March 2023 through May 11, 2023 will be issued at a later date.

If the child already has an active P-EBT card, benefits will be added to that card. If a new P-EBT card is needed, please visit www.connectebt.com or call 1 (888) 997-9444. If the child has not received P-EBT before, a new EBT card will be mailed to their home based on current school records.

Parents can login to the P-EBT Parent Portal at https://onedhs.tn.gov/parent to view P-EBT benefits, link their child(ren), verify, or change address, and sign up to receive text message notifications.

If a parent or guardian has questions that are not answered through the P-EBT website or P-EBT Parent Portal, they may call the P-EBT assistance line at (833) 419-3210.

School Year 2022-2023 P-EBT Reconsideration Process - If parents have not received P-EBT benefits by April 21st or believe their child’s School Year August 2022 through February 2023 P-EBT benefits do not reflect the number of school meals missed due to COVID-19-related school closures or COVID-19 excused absences during the 2022-2023 school year, they can submit a Reconsideration request via the P-EBT Parent Portal at https://onedhs.tn.gov/parent. Requests must be made between April 24, 2023 and May 5, 2023. If approved, reconsideration benefits will be issued around May 2023. To learn more about the Reconsideration Process visit: https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/p-ebt/school-year-2022-23-p-ebt-reconsideration-process.html

2022-2023 P-EBT Distribution for Home School/Virtual Students - The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS), in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education (DOE) will distribute a one-time payment to home school and virtual school students who are eligible for P-EBT benefits.

Home school and virtual school parents must create a OneDHS account (https://onedhs.tn.gov/csp) and then access the P-EBT Parent Portal to register for benefits (https://onedhs.tn.gov/parent). P-EBT registration for home school/virtual students is available from April 21, 2023 through May 5, 2023, and home school/virtual students must meet the following criteria to receive a benefit:

Eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals for the 22-23 school year.
Transferred from or did not attend in-person school on or after January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Would have attended a NSLP-participating institution if not for COVID-19.

Students who never enrolled in in-person schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic are also eligible if the Tennessee Department of Education (DOE) can verify their home school or virtual school information from their district of origin. For more information on P-EBT benefits for home school and virtual school students, please visit: https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/p-ebt/2022-2023-home-school-virtual-school-pebt-faq.html.

Child Care P-EBT (For SNAP Households) - The Child Care P-EBT program provides financial assistance to cover meals for children ages 6 and under, living within households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and may have missed meals due to child care interruptions caused by COVID-19. To be eligible for Child Care P-EBT children must:

Be 6 years old or under, and
Live in a household currently receiving SNAP food assistance benefits

Child Care P-EBT benefits will be issued in one lump sum payment in June 2023 on the household’s existing SNAP EBT card. The amount of Child Care P-EBT benefits will vary for each eligible child and household based on the child’s age and number of months over the August 2022 to May 2023 timeframe in which the family received SNAP benefits.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 (PL 116–127, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (PL 116-260), and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (PL 117-2) provides the Secretary of Agriculture authority to approve state agency plans to administer P-EBT. Approved state agencies may operate P-EBT when a school is closed or has been operating with reduced attendance or hours for at least five consecutive days during a public health emergency designation when the school would otherwise be in session.

Additional WGNS News Headlines: