ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) will today begin releasing additional Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits to eligible households. This is part of a second distribution approved by the United States Department of Agriculture. That authority falls under the CARES Act.
Eligible households include students who are learning virtually for at least five consecutive days and qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. They can also be enrolled in schools that provide free meals through the Community Eligibility Provision.
Families are not required to be current Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants or complete an application to qualify.
Benefit amounts will vary and are calculated at the rate of $5.86 per day, per child. This calculation accounts for each day the school operated under a 100 percent virtual model from the start of the school year.
.Households that previously received P-EBT benefits will have the new benefit added automatically to their card.
Replacement cards may be requested by contacting ConnectEBT, Virginia’s third-party EBT vendor. Call 866-281-2448.
Newly eligible households can expect to receive a card by mail within the next four weeks. If the participant is a member of to the SNAP program, VDSS will load the benefit automatically to the SNAP EBT card today.
Households with questions regarding their P-EBT benefits should refer to the P-EBT flyer or visit www.PEBTva.com for more information. Questions can also be submitted through the redesigned P-EBT inquiry portal, which can also be accessed through the P-EBT webpage or the COVID-19 Virginia Resources mobile app.
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