The San Diego Hunger Coalition reports that local families have until Aug. 1 to claim an average of $1,192 in pandemic food benefits.
Households who think they qualify but did not receive a Pandemic EBT 2.0 card in late 2021, can call a helpline at 1-800-887-8230 before the Aug. 1 deadline.
Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, known as P-EBT, is a federal program that was set up to provide money for groceries while schools and childcare sites were closed during the Public Health Emergency.
The second round of P-EBT — P-EBT 2.0 — was the largest round at an average of $1,192 per child and was issued to children who were eligible for free or reduced-priced meals and/or receiving CalFresh benefits from October 2020 to August 2021. Most cards were delivered in December 2021.
The Hunger Coalition said an estimated 32,500 P-EBT 2.0 cards sent to families in San Diego County were not activated, largely because the cards went to outdated addresses.
A recent study by California Department of Social Services reports the families of 69,000 eligible children in San Diego County are eligible to reclaim missing P-EBT 2.0 benefits, which could bring as much as $82.2 million in food assistance to the region for households experiencing nutrition insecurity this summer.
Last year, the Hunger Coalition enlisted the support of San Diego’s elected officials in the Legislature and Congress to encourage the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use its administrative authority to give eligible families another opportunity to claim and use their 2.0 benefits.
The USDA approved California to re-issue P-EBT 2.0 cards to eligible families. California has given families the short window of June 29 to Aug. 1 to call the helpline to request a reissued P-EBT 2.0 card.
On July 7, the Hunger Coalition announced the opportunity for families to get an average of $1,192 per child by requesting a new Pandemic-EBT 2.0 card, and the coalition has since released an outreach toolkit in English and Spanish available on its website at www.sdhunger.org.
Visitor traffic to the Hunger Coalition’s website has increased by 500% since the initial announcement, which reflects how much families need this information and support.
Last week, the Hunger Coalition and MAAC created a partnership where MAAC staff will help take calls from parents who are having trouble navigating the state helpline or who have received incorrect information about their eligibility from helpline staff.
The Hunger Coalition is now asking the state to extend the deadline to request new cards by another month
