Northwest PA News

Warren County School District issued the following announcement June 25.

*** UPDATED *** Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (P-EBT) Important Information

UPDATE (6/25/20):  Families that receive SNAP or TANF should have already had their benefits issued to their EBT card. If not, you may direct families to submit an inquiry at https://www.emergencymealsurvey.com/PA. All others, cards are in the process of being issued and mailed, but due to the very large volume, the timeline is slightly delayed.  Households should receive their cards by the end of July. 

The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 provides temporary benefits, referred to as Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), to families of school-aged children who would receive free or reduced-priced meals if school was in session.

For each day school is closed, families of school-aged children certified as free or reduced eligible will receive the equivalent of the free high rate for lunch and the severe need rate for breakfast. Specifically, a family will receive $5.70 for each eligible school-aged child in their family for each day school has been closed since March 16, 2020.

P-EBT is administered by the state but the WCSD wants to share as much information with its parents as possible to best position those in need to receive assistance. Here are some important points:

• Any student in a school that is providing meals under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will receive P-EBT benefits automatically.
  • For the WCSD, this means all students in Warren Area Elementary School, Sheffield Area Elementary School, Sheffield Area Middle High School, Youngsville Elementary School, and Youngsville Middle High School.
• Families receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Directly Certified Medical Assistance (DCMA) programs should be qualified for P-EBT automatically by the state.
• Students currently qualified for Free and Reduced Meals with the school district will be qualified when the Pennsylvania Department of Education pulls that data from the school district's database.

It is the recommendation of the PA Department of Human Services that families with students in the schools listed below apply to the district for Free and Reduced lunch meal benefits NO LATER THAN MAY 27, 2020, to determine if all the children in your household are qualified for benefits. This is important if the family has experienced a loss in family income due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Eisenhower Elementary School
• Eisenhower Middle High School
• Beaty Warren Middle School
• Warren Area High School

In addition, any WCSD households with students receiving Free and Reduced Lunch meal benefits that have had a change in their contact information (address, phone numbers) should contact their school with those changes immediately.

The district will be sending Free and Reduced Lunch benefit paper applications to families from EES, EMHS, BWMS, and WAHS starting today (March 13, 2020). Those with a computer and internet access may complete an application online at www.schoolcafe.com. Click HERE to download a copy of the letter being sent to families from the four schools listed above.

Please feel free to read through the Frequently Asked Questions document posted below. As this is a state program, please contact the PA Department of Human Services with any questions regarding the P-EBT Program at Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) Supplemental Payments.

P-EBT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Original source can be found here.