Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT)
As of December 1, the Department of Children and Families has issued P-EBT benefits to more than 1.7 million students in Florida and more than 430,000 children under the age of 6 who also receive SNAP.
The Department has developed a P-EBT Inquiry Form for parents/guardians of qualifying children to contact the Department about issues related to missing or incorrect P-EBT benefits from Summer 2022 beginning December 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023.
Before you contact us, please review our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you do not find the answer you are looking for in the FAQs, you may contact us in the following ways:
Online: https://myflfamiliespebt.com/pebt
Parents/guardians should submit one inquiry per child. Duplicate inquiries may result in a slower response time.
Attaching Verification to the Inquiry Form: If you need to provide verification to us, you may upload and attach it as a photo or document to your initial inquiry.
By Phone: 1-833-311-0321
The P-EBT Call Center is available to assist you during our normal operating hours 7:00am-6:00pm EST, Monday through Friday.
If you have received a P-EBT card and need to replace it, you can call 1-888-356-3281 to report your P-EBT card as lost, stolen, damaged, or if you did not receive your P-EBT card.
Summer 2022 P-EBT
Summer 2022 P-EBT benefits will be issued to all school-aged children who were determined eligible for free or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during school year (SY) 2021-2022.
Summer 2022 P-EBT benefits will also be issued for children under age 6 who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance during the summer and are participating in a childcare setting.
Each eligible student/child will receive a one-time Summer 2022 P-EBT benefit of $391.
Summer 2022 P-EBT benefit issuance is expected to begin in October 2022 and will run through November 2022. Eligible recipients should expect to receive their payment by November 30, 2022. Households already receiving SNAP benefits will receive Summer 2022 P-EBT benefits on their existing EBT cards. Households that received P-EBT benefits during the prior school year will receive benefits on their existing P-EBT card, and households that do not have an EBT or P-EBT card will receive a P-EBT card in the mail with benefits automatically loaded. If you need a replacement P-EBT card, you should call 1-833-311-0321 for a replacement.
If you lost your P-EBT card, or your think your student/child qualifies, but you have not received funds on your card by November 30, 2022, you should call 1-833-311-0321.
P-EBT Eligibility Criteria for School Year 2021-2022
The United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has granted states the authority to issue P-EBT benefits to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and non-SNAP households with one or more students who have temporarily lost access to free and reduced-price meals at school due to COVID-19 school closures and distance learning.
The Department was approved for a P-EBT plan for the 2021-2022 school year which will provide P-EBT benefits to students who meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The student attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program.
- The student did not have access to free or reduced-price meals because they have COVID-related absences.
- Meet one of the following conditions:
- The student receives SNAP (Food Assistance), TANF (Temporary Cash Assistance) or Medicaid (Directly Certified by FDACS for the NSLP), or
- The student is enrolled in a school that provides free lunch to all students as a Community Eligibility Provision school or a school operating under Provisions 2, or
- The student is determined eligible for the National School Lunch program by the school district through an application
Parents and guardians with students who meet the criteria above should apply for P-EBT benefits for the 2021-2022 school year. Before starting the application, please ensure that you have the following information:
- School name and county
- Student’s demographics – first and last name, date of birth, SSN, FLEID
- Parent/Guardian’s demographics – first and last name, date of birth, SSN
- Exact dates of COVID-related absences COVID-related absences are absences where the school directs the student to stay home for COVID-related reasons or any absence initiated by the parent that is recognized and accepted by school officials as COVID-related.
The P-EBT Application Portal for school year 2021-2022 is available through July 31, 2022. Verified applications must be submitted to the portal before September 1, 2022.
Complete and submit your P-EBT application in three easy steps:
Step 1: Complete an application for P-EBT benefits. Submit one application per student, per school. If the student attended multiple schools throughout the school year, a separate application is required for each school.
Step 2: You will need to print or email the application and the school must confirm the student’s COVID-related absences.
Step 3: When your application is complete, return to the P-EBT Application Portal to submit your application. Once received and approved, your benefits will be issued. Benefits will begin being issued at the end of June 2022.
Recipients should anticipate a staggered disbursement through September 2022. If you have questions about your student's P-EBT benefit, you may call 1-833-311-0321.
As previously communicated, The P-EBT Application Portal for School Year 2021-2022 will no longer accept new applications. If you have previously created an application, you still have an opportunity to complete your application by logging into your account to submit your completed application. The deadline to submit completed applications through the P-EBT Portal is September 1, 2022.
If you have already submitted a completed application, your application will continue to be processed. You can check the status of your application by logging into your P-EBT Portal account and click “Check Application Status”. If you have questions about your student's P-EBT benefit, you may call 1-833-311-0321.
How can I use my P-EBT card?
Households can use P-EBT benefits to buy breads, cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and plants and seeds to grow food for your household to eat. Households cannot use P-EBT benefits to buy nonfood items such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, household supplies, grooming items, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, vitamins, medicines, food to eat in the store, or hot foods.
