Pandemic relief: NYC public school children will get a summer meal benefit.
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Jon Cherry / Getty Images
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Families with children in the New York City public school system will receive money under a federal Covid-19 pandemic relief program ongoing, in order to help feed children during the summer.
The New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, or OTDA, announced this monday that under the Pandemic Coronavirus Electronic Benefits Transfer, or P-EBT, families will receive $375 for each child who is eligible for free school lunch under the National School Lunch Act.
All New York City public school children are eligible for free lunchregardless of family income, so all families should receive the benefit, which is retroactive to 2021.
The program was launched to help families pay for meals for children who were learning remotely during the height of the pandemic, when they would normally receive free lunch at school.
“Children who receive free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program are eligible for P-EBT food benefits if their school has been operating with reduced in-person attendance due to Covid-19 during the 2020-2021 school year”, states the OTDA on its site web.
“This includes children attending Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools and any private, pre-kindergarten, parochial and charter schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program.”
Families will automatically receive the funds in one of several ways. If you got a P-EBT debit card in either 2020 or 2021, the money will be loaded onto the card. If a child is enrolled in Medicaid, the funds will be added to their Medicaid card. All other families will receive a new card in the mail.
