GOSHEN COUNTY – Goshen County School District No. 1 students who received free or reduced lunch during the COVID-19 school closures March through May can expect to receive a Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer card in the mail.
The Department of Family Services is distributing the cards to provide temporary assistance for households with children affected by the pandemic, according to the DFS website. Each school-aged child in a household will receive a card with $285. This amount is the average of 50 school days missed due to COVID-19 multiplied by $5.70, the amount of the national daily reimbursement for free breakfast and lunch.
P-EBT benefits can be used to purchase any food item that is not hot and prepared at any store nationwide that accepts EBT cards.
According to DFS Public Information Officer Clint Hanes, 425 children in Torrington are expected to receive a P-EBT benefit this round.
“A card will be received as long as a current address is on record with the school district,” Hanes wrote in an email to The Telegram.
GCSD Business Manager Marcy Cates said the district is not involved in this program.
In May, these cards were distributed to families who applied for assistance. According to the DFS website, DFS entered into a contract with Urban Policy Development in September to issue these benefits to remaining eligible children who have not yet received them, regardless of whether or not they applied.
The program is funded by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, Hanes said.
Those who received flyers indicating they will receive a card can expect to receive one between Oct. 21-24. For households currently on SNAP or who have an active Wyoming EBT card, funds will be loaded directly onto existing cards.
If a family does not receive a card and believes they should, they can contact Fidelity Information Services Customer Service Line at 1-877-290-9401.
