The Arizona P-EBT Benefits program is a partnership between the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). DES distributes the P-EBT funds based on the names of the eligible children and school learning models provided by ADE.
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) provides assistance to households with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals while schools are either closed or offering a full-time or part-time distance learning model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arizona P-EBT Benefits program is a partnership between DES, the Arizona Department of Education, and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
P-EBT is established in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127) as amended by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159).
Eligible families receive a pre-loaded Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that can be used to purchase groceries. Households currently receiving Nutrition Assistance and/or Cash Assistance benefits will have this additional benefit added to their existing EBT cards. Households that received P-EBT benefits in 2020 or 2021 will have additional benefits added to their previously issued P-EBT card.
IMPORTANT: The 2020/2021 school year Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program and 2021 Summer P-EBT programs have ended. PEBT in Arizona has ended. USDA programs like the National School Lunch Program and Summer Food Service Program are available. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) will work closely with local education agencies and other state partners to ensure that all eligible children have access to healthy and nutritious meal options through these programs.
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Pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other nondiscrimination laws and authorities, ADES does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Persons that require a reasonable modification based on language or disability should submit a request as early as possible to ensure the State has an opportunity to address the modification. The process for requesting a reasonable modification can be found at Equal Opportunity and Reasonable Modification.