N.C. families will receive $250 per child on EBT card for kids who get free school lunch

If your child receives free or reduced lunch in a North Carolina Public School, you will receive $250 on your EBT card.

North Carolina has been approved for the new Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program to help families purchase food for children impacted by school closings. 

North Carolina is one of the first four states to receive federal approval from the United States Department of Agriculture to provide these benefits to families, which are entirely federally funded.

Governor Roy Cooper said so many families are in need, especially with so many out of work. 

This approval helps people get assistance faster to feed their families, Governor Roy Cooper said.

The benefits will be added on to an EBT card for North Carolina families. 

The families will receive $250 in benefits per child, provided with two installments, with the possibility of an additional benefit if North Carolina schools are closed beyond May 15.

As our schools closed, many families across the state worried about where their next meals would come from-and we knew we had to take action, NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Many Cohen, said.

Families will not need to apply for the P-EBT program. P-EBT eligible families already receiving Food and Nutrition Services will receive an additional benefit on their existing EBT card.

P-EBT eligible families not already enrolled in FNS will be mailed a new EBT card in the next few weeks. Families who receive a new EBT card will receive a letter from DHHS in the mail explaining how to activate and use their card.