Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) Program
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) is a temporary program that gives food assistance benefits to eligible families during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The benefits are given on an EBT card, which works like a debit card. You can use it to buy food at stores that accept EBT cards.
Note: Very few students are currently getting P-EBT benefits. Find out if your child is eligible for school year benefits or upcoming summer benefits.
Current Benefits: 2022-23 School Year
Eligible students attending school in person may receive benefits for days of school missed because of COVID-19 through May 11. (Some days are not counted; see details.)
Eligible young children: The statewide benefit amount may be different each month.
If you're unsure about your child's eligibility, take our school year eligibility quiz.
Note: All children will stop being eligible for P-EBT on May 11. This is when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. School year benefits not sent out by this time will be issued in June.
Upcoming Benefits: Summer 2023
A one-time Summer P-EBT benefit payment will be made to qualified students. Find out if your child qualifies for Summer P-EBT.
After this summer, the P-EBT program will end permanently.
Important Dates
May 11, 2023: The last day students can earn P-EBT benefits. Any COVID-19 related absences after this date will not be eligible for benefits.
May 31, 2023: The deadline to become eligible for P-EBT. Find out if you're eligible for P-EBT. If you're not, apply for FNS (food stamps) or apply for free or reduced-price meals at your child’s school ASAP. These applications can take at least a month to process.
Late June 2023: The last issuance for school year benefits. For students, only COVID-19 related absences on or before May 11 will be counted. For young children, the monthly benefit will be prorated for May 1-11.
End of June/early July 2023: Immediately following the end of school year benefits, the first Summer 2023 issuance will start. Only students attending school in person will be included in the summer program.
After June, no more P-EBT payments will be made.
Full School Year 2022-23 Eligibility Notice
Summer 2023 Eligibility Notice
How can we help you with P-EBT?
School Year 2022-23
If you participate in Food and Nutrition Services (also known as food stamps) or your children participate in the National School Lunch Program to receive free or reduced-price school meals, your household is also eligible for P-EBT. There’s no separate application.
Your child may be eligible if they are:
- A student who attends school in person, gets free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program, and who misses school due to COVID-19 related reasons
- A child 5 years old or younger in an active case through Food and Nutrition Services (also known as food stamps)
If you’re unsure about your child’s eligibility for the 2022-23 school year, take our eligibility quiz.
Summer 2023
Summer P-EBT is an extension of school year 2022-2023 benefits, but only for students in traditional in-person schools. Young children and students in homeschool or fully virtual school are NOT eligible for Summer 2023 P-EBT according to federal rules. To find out if your child is eligible for Summer P-EBT, take our Summer P-EBT eligibility quiz.
To qualify for 2023 Summer P-EBT:
- Your child must have attended a traditional in-person school in May 2023, AND
- Your child must be approved for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) free or reduced-price meals by May 31, 2023. This can be met in one of the following ways:
- Student applies for NSLP free or reduced-price meals through their school and is approved by May 31, or
- Student attended a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school as of May 2023 (where all students are eligible for free meals), or
- Student was automatically enrolled in free or reduced-price school meals during 2022-2023 the school year because of participation in the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program.
IMPORTANT: If you need to apply for FNS, visit https://www.ncdhhs.gov/FNS. Families are encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price meals at school or for NC Food and Nutrition Services (food stamps) by May 1. The eligibility cutoff date is May 31, and these applications can take over a month to process.
If you already have a FNS (food stamps) EBT or P-EBT card, any benefits you are eligible for will be added to it.
If this is your first time receiving benefits, a card will be mailed to you 1-3 weeks after the benefits are issued.
View your balance and manage your account using the ebtEdge website or mobile app.
School Year 2022-23
P-EBT benefits are determined each month. If your child qualifies for the month, you’ll see the benefits deposited onto your card automatically at the end of the following month.
School-age students only get benefits for the days they are out of school due to COVID-19. (Some days are not counted; see details.)
School Year 2022-23
Eligible students attending school in person: A benefit of $8.18 will be paid each day an eligible student cannot attend school because of COVID-19 (once the school meets a threshold for COVID-19 related absences). COVID-19 related absences can include being sick, quarantining or isolating, or spending days in temporary virtual learning because of COVID-19 while enrolled in an in-person school. However:
- The absence must be marked by the school as a COVID-19 related absence. Make sure your school marks the absences correctly (attendance codes 1D or 1R).
- Some days may not be counted. P-EBT benefits for the school year only begin once the student’s school has met a threshold of COVID-19 related absences this year. (This is because of federal government rules for the program.) See if your school has passed this threshold for the year (updated monthly).
Eligible young children: Eligible children 5 years old and younger will receive a monthly payment. The benefit amount will vary by month and will be posted each month:
Benefit Schedule and Amount (children 5 years and younger)
| Benefit Month(s) | Issuance Month (2023) | Benefit Amount |
|---|---|---|
| September 2022 through February 2023 | March | $35.69 each month |
| March 2023 | April | $31.21 |
| April 2023 | May | $24.38 |
If you’re unsure about your child’s eligibility for the 2022-23 school year, take our eligibility quiz.
Summer 2023
Summer P-EBT is a one-time payment of $120 for qualified students. Take our Summer P-EBT eligibility quiz to find out if your student qualifies.
School Year 2022-23
School-age students only get benefits for the days they are out of school due to COVID-19. (Some days are not counted; see details.)
Benefits will automatically be added each month based on the amount your child qualifies for. Because most students are back in school and receiving meals in person, many households will not get P-EBT this year or will only receive a small amount for COVID-19 related absences.
Summer 2023
A one-time benefit will be issued at the end of June. It can take up to 10 days for the benefit to appear on the card and be available for spending.
School Year 2022-23
P-EBT will end on May 11, 2023, when the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends. That means May’s benefits will be calculated based on school attendance during the first nine school days of the month for students, and the statewide benefit amount for children will be posted with other months on the P-EBT website.
Summer 2023
North Carolina is issuing a small amount of Summer P-EBT to students who attended traditional in-person schools this school year AND who were approved for NSLP free or reduced-price school meals by May 31. This year it is NOT possible to become eligible during the summer to receive a Summer P-EBT benefit. But there’s still time to qualify before the end of the school year. Take the Summer P-EBT eligibility quiz.
After this summer, the P-EBT program will end permanently. Families who are eligible for FNS will continue to receive those benefits.
Check out these Frequently Asked Questions.
Watch Out: P-EBT Scam Advisory
There are scams targeting EBT recipients. Here are some reminders to keep you and your family safe:
- NEVER provide personal information if someone you don’t know reaches out to you by phone, text, or email.
- NEVER share Social Security numbers, bank information, EBT and/or P-EBT card numbers, or other personal information with people you don’t know.
- ONLY provide personal information when YOU reach out directly to a state agency. If you receive any unsolicited communications asking you to provide personal information, do not respond and immediately delete the message.
- BEWARE: Card skimming and cloning are on the rise. Learn more about card scams and find out how to protect yourself.
Latest Updates
April 13, 2023
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Summer P-EBT benefits will be available only for students who attended traditional in-person schools this year AND who received free or reduced-price school meals. Qualified students will receive a one-time summer payment of $120. After this summer, the P-EBT program will end permanently. Take the Summer P-EBT eligibility quiz now.
March 16, 2023
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The first P-EBT issuance for students begins today. This issuance covers COVID-19 related absences from September through January. Issuances for children 5 years old and younger will begin at the end of March. See benefit amounts.
Feb. 28, 2023
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P-EBT benefits will continue for the 2022-23 school year and until the federal Public Health Emergency ends on May 11, 2023. Learn more about 2022-23 P-EBT.
Jan. 27, 2023
- P-EBT benefits will continue for the 2022-23 school year and until the federal Public Health Emergency ends on May 11, 2023. We'll announce details as soon as we can including detailed eligibility requirements so please bookmark this page and come back to learn more. In the meantime, find out what you can do to prepare for the next round of P-EBT.
All Updates
Dec. 14, 2022
- Starting on Dec. 23, 2022, the EBT Call Center hours of operation are changing to 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The EBT Call Center will not be open on weekends or holidays. You can activate your card, select a PIN, check your card balance, view your transaction history or cancel your EBT card by using the cardholder portal at www.ebtEdge.com or through the EBT Edge mobile app available at Google Play or the Apple Store.
Sept. 7, 2022
- As of Sept. 24, 2022, P-EBT recipients will have 274 days from the date of benefit issuance to make eligible purchases before benefits expire.
Aug. 10, 2022
- Please note that our call center is experiencing extremely high call volumes. For self-service options, please refer to our FAQs or the P-EBT Virtual Agent (chat circle on the bottom right of your screen) for information on P-EBT eligibility, benefits, and timing.
July 26, 2022
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Some families with eligible students may receive their new P-EBT cards with their Summer 2022 P-EBT benefits 1-2 weeks later than originally anticipated. All students who were eligible for Summer P-EBT by the first issuance on July 20, 2022, can expect to receive their cards no later than mid-August. Many eligible families should already have received benefits on their existing FNS EBT or P-EBT card. We apologize for the delay.
As a reminder, students who apply for National School Lunch Program free or reduced-price meals and young children who apply for Food and Nutrition Services by Aug. 31, 2022 and get approved will be eligible to receive Summer P-EBT in late September or early October.
NEW: To check to see if your child is eligible for Summer P-EBT, use the new Summer P-EBT Eligibility Quiz.
FAQ: I did not receive benefits and believe my child was eligible, what do I do?
July 25, 2022
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NCDHHS has begun issuing Pandemic-EBT benefits for summer 2022. Between July 20 and 30, the families of approximately 948,000 children in the state will each receive a one-time payment of $391 to purchase healthy meals during summer break. Families can check their eligibility for Summer P-EBT using the new P-EBT eligibility quiz (also available in Spanish).
With these benefits, NCDHHS has now issued more than $2.16 billion in total P-EBT benefits to North Carolina families since the COVID-19 response began in 2020, helping families buy food for the 1.48 million North Carolina children.
June 23, 2022
North Carolina will issue Summer P-EBT benefits for eligible students and young children. Read the news release.
Is My Student/Child Eligible? Summer P-EBT Frequently Asked Questions
There is no application for P-EBT, however, to be eligible:
- Students must be approved for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) free or reduced-price meals (FRP). If your student is not already approved, an application for NSLP FRP must be submitted to your local school district by Aug. 31, 2022 to be considered for Summer P-EBT benefits.
- Children 5 years old or younger that aren’t students must be part of a household that participates in Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). If not already participating, you must apply for FNS by Aug. 31, 2022 to be considered for Summer P-EBT benefits.
May 24, 2022
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North Carolina intends to issue Summer P-EBT benefits for eligible students and children at the end of July if federal approval is received. More information will be posted to this page as it becomes available.
May 12, 2022
- Next week, North Carolina’s youngest children who are eligible for food assistance benefits will begin to receive extra monthly benefits tied to the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2021-2022 school year. North Carolina is among the first states in the nation to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a 2021-2022 Child Care Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer food assistance program. See if your child is eligible.