USDA’s Temporary Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Program Issued $70.9 Billion in Benefits From 2020 to 2023

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed in March 2020, authorized USDA to create the temporary Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program (P-EBT) in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic disruptions to the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. In typical years, on average, about 30 million children receive breakfast or lunch—often for free or at a reduced-price—through these programs each school day. As the pandemic forced the closure of schools, millions of children lost access to meals they otherwise would have received. The aim of the P-EBT program was to issue benefits to qualifying households with children in the 50 United States, Washington, DC, and U.S. territories for the value of school meals that were forgone because of pandemic-related disruptions to onsite instruction at schools.