Kansas Families to Receive Approximately $7.4M in Food Support Through Pandemic EBT Program
~~DCF to Distribute Both Child Care and Supplemental Benefits for 2023~~
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced, in collaboration with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), the continuation of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Program (P-EBT) for the 2022-2023 school year. The program provides financial assistance to families who receive free or reduced-price school meals or who have children under the age of six and receive regular Food Assistance benefits.
“The P-EBT benefit provides temporary funding to address hunger and put healthy food on the table for Kansas children,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “I am thankful for our partnership with the Kansas Department of Education, which will ensure we have the data to get these benefits into the hands of families across the state.”
Beginning this week, children under the age of six in a household that received Food Assistance (also known as SNAP) in Kansas between August 2022 and May 11, 2023, have started to receive the child care P-EBT benefit. The amount of the benefit will vary depending on how many months a child received Food Assistance benefits. DCF anticipates distributing approximately $7.4 million for this program.
Additionally, DCF will be providing a supplemental P-EBT benefit for the summer months of 2023. This benefit is for school-aged children who received free or reduced-price school meals during the 2022 -23 school year.
Due to the complexity of gathering the necessary data, DCF will distribute the supplemental benefit in two phases beginning in January 2024.
The first phase includes an auto-issuance of benefits to families who are known to DCF through a direct certification process. The second phase, in February 2024, provides families an opportunity to request the supplemental benefit using an online portal. Additional information about the request process will be shared at a later date.
The supplemental benefit is $120 per child. DCF anticipates distributing $13.6 million for 2023.
“The P-EBT program has been essential for families who are experiencing food insecurity,” said Kansas DCF Secretary Laura Howard. “I am pleased that we are able to work with our partners to ensure families once again have access to high-quality food.”
Recipients can use their P-EBT funds to purchase eligible foods from approved retailers that accept Food Assistance benefits, like grocery stores and online at Aldi, Amazon, or Walmart.
Additional information can be found on the DCF
website.
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