Summer P-EBT Benefits for Students Have Been Approved

July 12, 2022

News Release

CHARLESTON,WV - West Virginia has received approval for benefits from its Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program to go to eligible school-aged children and eligible children who are not yet enrolled in school, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) said.

According to the WVDE, the program will provide a one-time summer feeding benefit of $391 for each eligible child that will be deposited onto their WV-PEBT card. The WVDE said the state will not be utilizing the Mountain State EBT cards for this round of benefit distributions.

Officials said those eligible will receive the benefit in August, but an exact date has not been announced at this time.

The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the WVDE and the West Virginia Department for Health and Human Resources. According to the organizations, to be eligible to receive the funds, children must meet certain requirements:

• For school-aged children, the student must have been enrolled in a school for the 2021-2022 school year that participates in the National School Lunch Program as of May 31, 2022, and must qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

• For children not yet enrolled in school, the child must be under 6 years old and live in a household that receives SNAP benefits.

The WVDE says children under 6 years old who become eligible for SNAP or students who become eligible for free or reduced-price meals will be considered eligible for the Summer P-EBT benefits and will be issued the full amount in “an exception process” at the end of the summer period.

According to the WVDE, any students from schools participating in the National School Lunch Program who were not eligible, but have since experienced a financial change that could make them eligible will need to contact their county or school’s child nutrition contact for an application to receive free or reduced-priced meals before July 31.