Abbott, HHSC extend deadline for pandemic food benefits for families

AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is extending the application deadline for the federal Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer program (P-EBT) to July 31.

Extending the deadline will help ensure eligible families have time to apply for this one-time food benefit.

P-EBT is a one-time benefit of $285 per eligible child and can be used in the same way as SNAP food benefits to pay for groceries. Eligible families include those with children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program due to 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 Abbott. "Ensuring access to healthy food in our communities is an important part of our response to this pandemic."

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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.

RELATED: Abbott, HHSC announce over $1B in pandemic food benefits for Texas families

HHSC partnered with the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Education Agency to launch the $1 billion federal program on June 1 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, nearly $700 million in P-EBT has been issued to families, benefiting more than 2.5 million children.

Click here to learn more about P-EBT. For questions regarding eligibility or to learn more, people may also contact the P-EBT Call Center at 833-613-6220, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

When applying, HHSC says it is especially important to include a valid phone number on the application as staff may need to call families to get additional information to approve P-EBT benefits.

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