JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) and the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) have started releasing P-EBT benefits to children who were under six-years-old and received SNAP benefits during the 2021-2022 school year or summer 2022.
The P-EBT cards will be mailed between October 13 and October 22. Children who were under six-years-old and were members of an active SNAP case between August 2021 and July 2022 will received one-time P-EBT benefits based on the number of months they received SNAP benefits.
The distribution of P-EBT benefits to PreK-12 students who were eligible for the National School Lunch Program during the 2021-2022 school year will begin later in October.
All eligible children will receive new P-EBT cards. MDHS leaders said families should check their mail closely for new cards arriving in the next few days. For SNAP Under 6 children, the cards will be mailed to the family’s most updated address on file with the SNAP program. For PreK-12 students, the cards will be mailed to the address provided by the child’s 2021-2022 school district. The addresses were collected from school districts in July and August. Cards can’t be forwarded.
Parents can call the P-EBT Customer Service Center at 1-833-316-2423 for questions about P-EBT. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Parents can also reach the call center through live chat on the MDHS P-EBT website. Call center staff can review the address on file for eligible children, accept address update requests and accept eligibility review requests. for SNAP Under 6 children, review requests can only be submitted by the person listed as the Head of Household on the child’s most recent SNAP case. For PreK-12 children, review requests can only be submitted by the parent/guardian listed on the child’s school records from the 2021-2022 school year.
Children who were in PreK-12 at the end of the 2021-2022 school year will receive a $391 one-time benefit. Eligibility is determined solely by their eligibility for Free or Reduced Priced Lunch under the National School Lunch Program during the 2021-2022 school year. Completing an application for free or reduced-price lunch for the current 2022-2023 school year after July 31, 2022, doesn’t make the child eligible for the current round of P-EBT benefits.
P-EBT benefits can be used to purchase SNAP-eligible food items at stores that accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. Eligibility for P-EBT is limited to students who would have been eligible for free or reduced-price meals under normal school meal operations as part of the National School Lunch Program during the 2021-22 school year.
A table of benefit amounts can be found on the MDHS P-EBT website. Federal rules set the benefit amounts. Parents can also visit the website for a step-by-step guide on how to complete the Verification Form signature process.