SAN FRANCISCO—On Wednesday, May 13, Mayor London Breed announced that eligible San Francisco families can receive support to feed their children via California’s Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program. The P-EBT program provides families one card per eligible child with up to $365. The cards are similar to debit cards and can be used to purchase groceries at stores, farmers’ markets, and online retailers.
Children who receive either free or reduced-price lunches at school and public benefit assistance from the San Francisco Human Services Agency will be mailed their P-EBT cards. Children eligible for P-EBT, who already receive benefits from CalFresh, Medi-Cal, or Foster Care, will receive P-EBT benefits automatically. There is no need for their families to apply. Those who receive free or reduced-price lunches, but not public benefit assistance must complete a brief application. The application will be available starting May 22, can be filled out online at https://ca.p-ebt.org/. The application process will end on June 30. Both the San Francisco Human Services Agency and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) are letting families know about P-EBT benefits.
P-EBT benefits are not a replacement for any emergency school meal programs or CalFresh. Free meals from the SFUSD will still be available for children receiving those benefits. They can be picked up on Mondays and Wednesdays at various sites throughout San Francisco. Eligible children can receive P-EBT benefits regardless of their immigration status.
The purpose of this program is to help provide children with the healthy nutrition that they normally receive from their school meal programs. It is estimated that over 50 percent of SFUSD students, around 35,000 children, are eligible for either free or reduced-price lunches. More information on this program can be found at sfhsa.org/p-ebt or by calling 311.
