April P-EBT Fund Information For Eligible Families

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Updated on 4.25.22

Eligible Texas families who lost access to free or reduced-price meals during the 2021-2022 school year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will receive P-EBT food benefits.

If your child is eligible, benefit amounts will vary because it is based on each student’s COVID-related absences, virtual attendance, and school closures. This is different from previous P-EBT benefit amounts that were the same for all students at a campus.

One requirement for P-EBT is that students must be certified as eligible for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) at their Texas school during the 2021-2022 school year. Receiving free meals at school does not automatically qualify a child for P-EBT.

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

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. NSLP household meal application for P-EBT received by April 29, 2022, and approved by the child nutrition department. Fill out the form.
                  2. Direct Certification 
                  3. Enrollment at a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 (P2) school.

What action do families need to take?

1. Determine if you need to submit a household application for free or reduced-price meals:
   • If you believe your family is income eligible for free or reduced-price meals, submit an NSLP household meal application to your child’s school. 
     • Not sure if you are income-eligible? Use the Income Eligibility Calculator (www.SquareMeals.org/IEC)
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.

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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.
  • If you are unsure if your child is enrolled at a CEP or P2 school, contact the Aldine ISD Child Nutrition Department. (281.985.6400)

If your child is eligible to receive P-EBT benefits, a notice will be mailed to you. If this is your first time receiving P-EBT benefits, the notice will have information on how to claim your benefits and get a P-EBT card mailed to you. If you have received P-EBT before, benefits will be issued on your Lone Star Card or P-EBT Card. If you no longer have that card, call the Lone Star Help Desk at 877-541-7905.

P-EBT benefits for the first semester (August 2021–December 2021) should be issued in late April 2022. The second semester (January 2022–June 2022) benefits will be issued in July 2022. You might receive benefits for both semesters in July.

To learn more about eligibility, applying, and getting your P-EBT benefits, visit hhs.texas.gov/pebt, or call the P-EBT Call Center at 833-442-1255, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Eligibility

Receiving free meals at school does not mean a student is eligible for NSLP, and it does not automatically make a student eligible for P-EBT. Some Texas campuses have offered free meals to all students during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Children can be eligible for NSLP in different ways. They are eligible if they have one of the following:

• NSLP household meal application approved by the child nutrition department.
  • Families are encouraged to submit a meal application by April 29, 2022 to receive P-EBT benefits in a timely manner. However, meal applications may still be approved up until June 30, 2022.
• Direct certification through state or local programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, federally funded Head Start or Early Head Start, foster care, migrant or homeless youth.
• Enrollment in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools or Provision 2 (P2) schools.
  • Children attending these schools are NSLP-eligible and do not need to complete an NSLP household application.