The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has extended to August 31 the deadline for Illinoisans to apply for nutrition benefits. Eligible applicants are able to receive up to $342 per eligible student in food benefits. To date, around 390,000 students who are currently eligible for the Illinois Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program have not yet applied.
The P-EBT program, which is authorized and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), was created to bring food benefits to all school-aged children who are eligible for free or reduced meals at their schools through the National School Lunch Program.
The P-EBT program has already provided more than $246 million in additional nutrition benefits to more than 730,000 Illinois children. Benefits are calculated using a $5.70 per-day and per-student formula. These benefits apply to households with school-aged children who were eligible for free or reduced meals from March 2020 through June 2020. Eligible Benefit Amounts are:
$182.40= March & April 2020
$119.70= May 2020
$39.90= June 2020
Those who did not receive SNAP benefits last spring are able to submit a simplified application for P-EBT benefits using ABE.Illinois.gov online portal or by completing a paper application, which is available at the IDHS website.
For additional information on the P-EBT program, go to https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=124142.