School Meals and P-EBT Information for September

When school begins next week, many families want to know if school meal sites will still be available for pick up. There will be meal sites for families to pick up meals, but meals sites may look a bit different than they did in the spring.  

• Meal distribution locations may have changed since this summer. Some counties are offering additional meal pickup locations via bus delivery. Visit MDsummermeals.org for location information.
  
• Parents or caregivers will be able to pick up meals for their children (they will not need to have the children present to pick up meals).  -Families will be able to pick up breakfast and lunch meals for Monday-Friday. Depending on the county, more than one day’s worth of meals might be distributed at one time. In that case, meal pick up would be open 2-4 days a week.
  
• Check your county school system’s website for the most current information.

Many families will be receiving additional money on their EBT cards during the month of September. The extra money is to help families cover the cost of feeding their families while schools are still closed due to COVID-19. Here’s what you need to know about the P-EBT benefits:

•  Students enrolled in free or reduced-price school meals are eligible for P-EBT benefits.
  
• If your child’s school provides free meals to all students, your family will receive P-EBT benefits.
  
• Each eligible student will receive $5.86 per day that schools are closed in September.
  
• Students with SNAP will receive P-EBT directly on their EBT cards.
•  Students eligible for P-EBT, but not receiving SNAP, will have September benefits added to the same P-EBT card they received earlier this summer.
• If this card is lost, call the EBT call center or submit an online “customer inquiry” to request a new one.
• All September benefits will be distributed before September 30, 2020.

If you have questions about P-EBT, families can call the Maryland P-EBT Hotline at 1-833-330-7328 and they can also complete a “customer inquiry form” if they need help.

 Visit the Department or Human Services website for additional information: https://dhs.maryland.gov/p-ebt/