Anyone in Cattaraugus County who has children who receive free or reduced lunch will receive assistance with food costs this summer.  The Cattaraugus County Department of Social Services has recently learned that New York State, through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, has authorized the payment of P-EBT food benefits to households with children who would have received free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Act.

If your child/children receive free or reduced-price school lunches, then they are eligible to receive P-EBT food benefits due to COVID-19. This includes all children attending Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools where all children receive free or reduced-price school lunches. In Cattaraugus County, Olean and Salamanca school districts are included in the CEP program.

“If you already receive public assistance, watch your mail for a P-EBT notice.  You do not need to apply for this benefit.”, according to Cattaraugus County Department of Social Services Commissioner Anthony Turano.   If your family receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and/or Temporary Assistance (TA) benefits and you have school-age children, food benefits for each eligible school-age child in your household will automatically be issued to your family’s current EBT card.

The maximum monthly amounts you may receive for each eligible child in your household are:

The maximum amount of P-EBT food benefits that one child could receive is $420 for the entire March through June period.

“Through this pandemic, we have seen families struggle.” Turano noted, adding “We have been in touch with food pantry operators in our county and they remain busy.  If the federal unemployment supplement ends next month, food insecurity will be an issue for many families in our community, many of whom were employed before March and do not receive public assistance benefits.”

If your family does not receive SNAP or TA benefits and if you do not already have an active EBT Card, one will be mailed to you so you may access your child/children’s P-EBT food benefits. A card will be issued and mailed in each school-aged child’s name, not a parent’s or guardian’s name.

An EBT card looks and is used like a bank debit card to buy food at authorized retail food stores.

A detailed list of food items that may be purchased with the benefits can be found at http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items/.

Benefits will remain available and accessible on your EBT card for up to one year from the date they are issued. You can check your family’s P-EBT food benefits balance by visiting www.connectebt.com or by calling 1-888-328-6399.

For More Information:  Contact Nichole Zink, Deputy Commissioner, 716-701-3691