You are here: News & Press Releases 

Food Benefits for Kids in Cuyahoga County

6/5/2020

A new federally funded program called Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) is now available to help Cuyahoga County families afford healthy food for their children!

P-EBT is additional money for families to buy food due to COVID-19 related school closures. Families with children who receive free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program will receive P-EBT funds.

• Ohio families will receive $5.70 per child for each day a school was closed due to COVID-19.
• Children eligible for free and reduced-price meals as of March will receive a total of $302.10. Children that became eligible for free and reduced-price meals in April will receive $239.40.
• Use P-EBT as well as grab-and-go meal sites to meet your children’s food needs.
• P-EBT is available to all school children regardless of immigration status. P-EBT is a replacement for free/reduced-price school meals which is not considered in a “public charge” determination.

You will receive P-EBT funds if your child(ren):

• Receive free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program OR
• Attend a school where every student gets free meals

Most families that already participate in SNAP (food stamps) will have funds added to the Ohio Direction Card they already have. Families that do not currently participate in SNAP, as well as some families that do participate in SNAP, will receive one P-EBT card in the mail for each eligible child. Cards are expected to arrive by mid-June.

The P-EBT Program will bring more than $31 million into Cuyahoga County’s economy, supporting our grocery stores and farmers markets, local economies, and communities. An estimated 105,000 children in grades K-12 in Cuyahoga County will receive these funds.

For additional information, visit:

OhioPEBT.org  or call: 1-866-244-0071

---