Families of Nearly 250,000 Iowa Kids to Receive $300+ Per Child

A huge number of Iowa families will be receiving more than $300 per child next week, for kids who have lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures related to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program, or P-EBT, will pay the benefits to eligible kids from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

If a child has received Food Assistance/SNAP benefits since April of this year, that family will receive $307.80 for each child who is eligible. The money will be loaded to the family's regular EBT card next Wednesday, July 15.

For kids pre-kindergarten through 12th graders who get Free and Reduced Price School Meals but not Food Assistance/Snap benefits, they'll receive money in a different way. It will come via a P-EBT card. The card should be received between Tuesday, July 14, and Tuesday, July 21. They will come in a white envelope with a return address in Austin, Texas. The cards will look like this:

According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, the money can be used to purchase meats/poultry/fish, along with fruits, bread, and dairy.

Educate Iowa says 247,785 eligible children in Iowa will share the $76,268,223 in food assistance benefits, equating to the $307.80 per child. More information is available from the Department of Human Services HERE and HERE.