NCDHHS announces continuation of Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program

Last week, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced it will continue the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program during the 2022-2023 school year.

The NCDHHS received approval to continue these benefits from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

The P-EBT program provides eligible children who rely on school-served meals with food when they are absent from instruction due to COVID-19. Students in grades K-12 and younger children in childcare are eligible.

Eligible families receive a card that can be used to buy groceries at most retailers and grocery stores. The card for this school year will be issued in March and covers food costs accrued from September 2022 to February 2023. 

Loree Perry, a director of school nutrition with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, is in charge of meals for the nearly two dozen schools in the district. She said the program originally started during the pandemic. 

“Because (the students) were home, the meals that they would normally be getting were meals that the parents couldn't necessarily pick up and afford, so this was a replacement for the school meals that they were missing,” Perry said. 

Even though COVID-19 cases are not as high as they once were, Perry said it makes sense that the NCDHHS has continued the P-EBT program. 

“They decided to continue it one, because there was funding. And two, they determined that there was still a need there because some people are still going back to work or reestablishing their income,” Perry said. 

Perry said that not everybody is back to their previous pre-pandemic security. She believes the system recognizes that the need for help is still there. 

“If a child isn't eating right, they're not going to perform right in school and sometimes they'll let us know and sometimes they won't,” Karen Sanders, a full-time teacher at Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for nearly 25 years, said. 

Sanders said she doesn’t know which students are on the program, but she does know signs that teachers look for in a student experiencing food insecurity. One of these signs is when a student excessively asks for snacks, she said.

If a child occasionally asks for a snack from another student or teacher, they don’t think anything of it, Sanders said. However, if a student is constantly requesting food from a teacher or their peers, teachers often become concerned and take action.

“What I would do is, if I noticed something on a consistent basis with a student in my class, I would contact the social worker because we have a couple at school,” Sanders said, “I would tell them this is a student's name. You need to talk to them.” 

Hunter Klosty, Vice President of East Chapel Hill High School's Student Council, said it can be very difficult for students who suffer from food insecurity. 

He said some students start their day by riding the bus because their parents can’t take them to school or they do not have a car. With recent bus issues, he also said these students could arrive late to school. 

Once these students arrive to school, they receive a free breakfast and a free lunch. He said the free and reduced lunch programs should continue at school, but there could be a more efficient way to organize it. 

“I don’t know if it’s the best use of resources,” Klosty said. 

Because the program expires in May 2023, Klosty suggests that state-funded food stamp programs or help from private organizations could be good alternatives. 

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