NEW CASTLE — Eligible Delaware households will receive additional emergency food assistance benefits under the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program to cover the summer period when children are on break and not receiving meals at school.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 extends P-EBT through summer 2021 for the following children:

• Children who received P-EBT benefits during the last month of the 2020-’21 school year;
• Children who were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals during the 2020-21 school year, but did not receive P-EBT benefits in the last month of the school year because they attended school in-person and had access to meals at school;
• Children who are determined newly eligible for free or reduced-price meals during summer 2021; and
• Children under age 6 who are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits during summer 2021.

Delaware’s Division of Social Services, collaborating with the Delaware Department of Education, will issue the Summer P-EBT benefit from July 8-29.

Eligible households will receive the U.S. standard Summer P-EBT one-time benefit of $375 for each eligible child in the household in one issuance on their EBT card.

The date in July that benefits are issued to individual households depends on when P-EBT eligibility information is received from Delaware schools. Benefits will be available to use the day after they are issued.

Households that apply for free or reduced-price meals by Sept. 3 and whose children are determined newly eligible for summer 2021 may also receive the Summer P-EBT benefit.

If the Division of Social Services receives a child’s P-EBT eligibility information after July, the household will receive the Summer P-EBT benefit on one of the dates listed below depending on when the Division of Social Services receives the child’s information:

• Aug. 19 (benefits available Aug. 20)
• Sept. 9 (benefits available Sept. 10)
• Sept. 30 (benefits available Oct. 1)

P-EBT benefits may be used to purchase food at grocery stores, convenience stores and farmer’s markets that accept SNAP EBT cards. SNAP households will have the Summer P-EBT benefit loaded to their existing SNAP EBT cards.

Households that do not receive SNAP will have the Summer P-EBT benefit loaded to the P-EBT card that was sent to them during school year 2019-20 or school year 2020-21. Newly eligible non-SNAP households will receive a P-EBT card in the mail along with details on how to use the card.

The Division of Social Services estimates that it will issue $44.6 million in P-EBT benefits to approximately 119,000 children for summer 2021.

“The consistent availability of food is one of the most important social determinants of health, especially for children and their families in need,” said Molly Magarik, cabinet secretary for the Department of Health and Social Services, which includes the Division of Social Services.

“We are grateful for the support of the American Rescue Plan Act and the federal government in being able to extend Pandemic EBT benefits during the summer to eligible Delaware families.”

Eligible households will receive written notification in the mail regarding the Summer P-EBT benefit. Households do not need to take any action to receive P-EBT benefits. P-EBT eligibility is based on information received from Delaware schools.

Families who would like to apply for free or reduced-price school meals may contact the School Nutrition Program for their child’s school or visit their school’s website to complete an application.

Families must apply for free or reduced-price meals by Sept. 3 to be eligible potentially for the Summer P-EBT benefit.

Contact the Division of Social Services at 1-866-843-7212 for questions about Delaware’s P-EBT Program. Visit Delaware’s P-EBT website for more information.