Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfers to Begin This Week

Families whose children receive free and reduced meals at school will get additional assistance beginning this week with Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits. 

The benefits are intended to reimburse families for the cost of meals that their children were unable to receive due to COVID-19 school closures.  The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration worked with the Indiana Department of Education to identify eligible families for the benefits. 

Eligible families will receive an amount equal to the value of the daily allotment for breakfast and lunch multiplied by the average number of school days missed since school was cancelled per student.

Families who do not currently receive SNAP will receive an EBT card in the mail by the end of the month, along with activation and use instructions.  There is no application process.  The P-EBT card works like a bank credit card and can be used at any store that accepts SNAP.  It cannot be used for cash withdrawals at ATM machines. 

Families who already receive SNAP benefits will have the additional benefits applied to the Hoosier Works EBT card by the end of May.