Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and Governor Jim Justice announced today approval for West Virginia’s Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits for student and non-student populations.
The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the WVDE, will provide a one-time summer feeding benefit valued at $391 per eligible child. This benefit will be deposited onto the child’s WV-PEBT card. The state will not utilize the Mountain State EBT card during this round of distribution.
On February 18, 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved issuance of a third round of P-EBT for students who would have received free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program if their schools were not closed or operating at reduced attendance hours due to COVID-19.
Eligible students are those enrolled during the school year 2021-2022 in a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program as of May 31, 2022, and qualifies for free or reduced-price meals.
Eligible children not yet enrolled in school are those that are under the age of six and reside in a household that receives SNAP. Any child under six who becomes eligible for SNAP, or any individual student who becomes eligible for free or reduced-price meals (during the covered summer period) will be deemed eligible for Summer P-EBT and will be issued the full benefit in an exception process at the end of the covered summer period.
Students at participating schools who did not qualify for free or reduced-price meals during 2021-2022 school year and have experienced a change in status that could deem them eligible for free or reduced price meals, should contact their county or school child nutrition contact to complete a free/reduced-price meal application before July 31, 2022.
“I am once again grateful for an additional round of this extremely important funding,” Gov. Justice said. “Our children are our greatest treasure in West Virginia and making sure our kids have enough to eat is absolutely the most important thing we can do. I commend our state agencies that have worked with these federal resources, so our children have access to the meals they need.”
Households can expect to receive the one-time benefit during the month of August 2022. An exact date will be announced at a later time. West Virginia estimates Summer P-EBT will be issued to approximately 255,000 children, drawing down nearly $100 million in additional federal funding.
Families may visit wvpebt.org for general updates and information.
