The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance announced earlier this month additional food assistance of more than $880 million to help New Yorkers with children who previously received free and reduced-price meals at school. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program will provide eligible households with a total of about $420 per child, with school buildings closed for the remainder of the school year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The maximum monthly amounts families may receive for each eligible child in your household are:
March $68.00
April $125.00
May $119.00
June $108.00
Families will not need to apply for the program. About 1.3 million children living in households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), receiving Temporary Assistance benefits or Medicaid will automatically receive the additional assistance through their existing EBT cards.
OTDA is also working with the state Education Department to identify an additional 800,000 children in households that are not receiving Medicaid, SNAP or Temporary Assistance, but are receiving free and reduced-price school meals. These families will be mailed a temporary EBT card along with instructions for activating the card and accessing their assistance.
Children ages 3 and 4, who attend pre-kindergarten and who receive free or reduced-price lunch are also eligible to receive P-EBT benefits.
Additionally, nearly 750,000 low-income individuals and families enrolled SNAP will receive the maximum allowable benefit for May to help them avoid food insecurity. This will mark the third consecutive month all SNAP recipients in New York State have received the maximum benefit.
OTDA will be issuing the emergency assistance to any SNAP household that did not receive the maximum allowable benefit per month, which is $194 for an individual and $646 for a family of four. The emergency assistance will be distributed later this month, after the regular benefits are issued. About half of all households receiving SNAP will receive additional benefits for May.
Like regular SNAP benefits, these Pandemic EBT benefits can be used to purchase food at authorized retail food stores. New Yorkers enrolled in SNAP can also use their benefits to purchase groceries online. By purchasing online for pickup or delivery, those who are most at-risk for COVID-19 can reduce their potential for exposure to the contagion in public.
Statewide, SNAP recipients can use their benefits to purchase eligible food items from Amazon. Certain ShopRite stores located throughout Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Rensselaer, Richmond, Schenectady, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties are also accepting benefits online. Specific Walmart stores in Albany, Cattaraugus, Dutchess, Erie Genesee, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Tompkins and Wayne counties are taking online orders.
Availability is determined by ZIP code and any interested SNAP recipients should consult the retailer’s website. Those recipients using benefits online will need a supplemental payment source for non-SNAP items or fees, such as the cost of delivery. More information is available at: www.otda.ny.gov/SNAP-COVID-19.
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