Portland State Program Offers Families Help To Pay For Food

Press release from Portland Public Schools:

May 7, 2020

As our community deals with fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, we want to make Portland Public Schools families aware of a state benefit to help pay for food. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program, or P-EBT, is available to help families offset the cost of meals that would have been consumed at school. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Human
Services.

The P-EBT benefit is available to families with a student who qualifies for free or reduced-price meals and any student enrolled in a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school. For those families:

• Households who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Association Program (SNAP), which offers food benefits to eligible, low-income individuals and families, will have benefits automatically deposited to their existing EBT accounts. There is no additional paperwork to submit to receive P-EBT benefits.
• Households who currently qualify for free or reduced-price meals or attend a CEP school will receive an Oregon Trail Card in the mail along with instructions on how to activate or refuse benefits. There is no additional paperwork to submit to receive P-EBT benefits.

For families not currently eligible and seeking benefits:

• Households financially impacted by COVID-19 may qualify for SNAP. See the program’s website to learn more.
• Families who have experienced income loss may now be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Apply online at pps.net/nutrition.

For assistance with submitting a meal application, please contact the PPS Meal Benefits Office: mealbenefits@pps.net or 503-916-3402.

For Pandemic-EBT questions, please contact the Oregon Department of Human Services.

This press release was produced by Portland Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.