P-EBT helps families buy food graphic

P-EBT Helps Rains Families Buy Food

RISD Food Services

March 31, 2022

Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) for 2021-22 School Year

National School Lunch Program  |  Free and Reduced-Price Meal Eligibility

Texas Health and Human Services is partnering with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to provide school year 2021–2022 Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits to eligible children.

School year 2021–2022 P-EBT is for families with children who are certified for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and who temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals during the school year due to COVID-19-related student absences, virtual attendance and school closures. Receiving free meals at school does not automatically make a child NSLP-certified or eligible for P-EBT benefits.

Eligibility for free or reduced-price meals is determined in the following ways:

  1. NSLP household meal application for P-EBT received by April 29, 2022 and approved by the child nutrition department. 

  2.   Direct certification, details are below. 

  3.   Enrollment at a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 (P2) school. Rains Elementary and Rains Intermediate are CEP schools.

What action do families need to take?

1. Determine if you need to submit a household application for free or reduced-price meals:

You DO NOT need to submit an NSLP household meal application if:
  • Your child has been directly certified
  • Your child or household is approved for SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, federally funded Head Start or Early Head Start, or your child has foster, migrant, or homeless status.
  • Your child is enrolled at a CEP or P2 school. Rains Elementary and Rains Intermediate are CEP schools.

2. Report COVID-19 related absences to your child’s school.

  • If your child was absent in the 2021-2022 school year due to COVID-19 illness, exposure, or quarantine; make sure the school knows the absence was caused by COVID-19.

View the P-EBT One Pager here.     |    Visit the RISD Food Services page here.