State Extends Food Assistance Deadline for Families Affected By COVID-19 School Closures

Families who relied on the free school lunch program have another month to obtain assistance. The new deadline for applying for the federal Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer program is July 31. 

P-EBT provides a one-time payment of $285 per eligible child and can be used in the same way the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps pay for groceries. Eligible families include those with children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to COVID-19 school closures. 

“The extension of the P-EBT deadline helps ensure that Texans have time to apply for this program and provide nutritious food to their families as the state continues to combat COVID-19,” said Gov. Greg Abbott. “Ensuring access to healthy food in our communities is an important part of our response to this pandemic.”

“We remain committed to ensuring access to healthy and nutritious foods for eligible Texans, and P-EBT provides that to those who need it most,” said Texas Health and Human Services Access and Eligibility Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter. “This extension provides more time for families to apply for this emergency assistance.”

More than three million children in Texas were certified to receive free or reduced-price meals at school during the 2019-2020 school year. Families who are eligible for P-EBT were notified by their school districts in May. After completing the online application, families receive their benefits on a new Texas P-EBT card in the mail.

To date, nearly $700 million in P-EBT has been issued to families, benefiting more than 2.5 million children.

More information about P-EBT is available at hhs.texas.gov/pebt. For questions regarding eligibility or to learn more, people may also contact the P-EBT Call Center at 833-613-6220, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Standard Time Monday through Friday. When applying, it is especially important to include a valid phone number on the application in case staff needs to call families to get additional information to approve P-EBT benefits.