One in three students in San Diego County don't have reliable access to food.
Now, 32,500 San Diego County students and their families can request a reissuance of the P-EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer) 2.0 card and receive a one-time payment of $1,192 dollars to help pay for food during the summer break.
The pandemic EBT program was created when COVID-19 forced schools to close and eligible students weren’t getting free or reduced-price school meals.
“This represents the single biggest opportunity to address child hunger this summer,” said Anahid Brakke, president & CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition.
The Hunger Coalition analyzed the data and discovered that 32,500 San Diego County families who were eligible to get the benefit have not.
“During COVID, the schools were not collecting different forms to update addresses, so a lot of these went to old addresses. There was limited public awareness building about the program, so people didn’t know about it,” Brakke said.
Children up to 6 years old who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as CalFresh in California, and schoolage children who received free or reduced-price meals during the 2020-2021 school year are eligible for the benefit.
Amanda Mascia, director of programs for the Hunger Coalition estimated that the $1,192 could pay for 300 meals. Mascia explained how eligible families who are currently experiencing homelessness can also receive the benefit.
“They can update their address to a place that may be safe to have their mail sent, including — and what we suggest — at the school that the child may be attending. So schools are a trusted place to have P-EBT 2.0 cards sent to,” Mascia said.
Eligible Families have until Aug. 1 to claim the benefit. To learn more go to www.sdhunger.org or call the state hotline at 1-800-887-8230.
