P-EBT Update

P-EBT Extension Benefit Cards

As of December 22, all P-EBT extension cards have been issued totaling over 3.4M cards. Thus far, $181,863,727 in food has been purchased using P-EBT extension benefits and over $626M has been made available. We will provide a more comprehensive update regarding P-EBT extension outcomes in the new year.

P-EBT Cards & Mail Delays

Many Californians are experiencing significant USPS mail delivery delays due to the holiday season and high demand on mail services this year, including package delivery. This has affected the timely delivery of P-EBT cards to some households. We have confirmed that all P-EBT cards have left our facility ahead of schedule. That said, those mailed later in December may not arrive until early January. We recognize this is not ideal given the holiday season but are asking that you help spread the word as you engage with P-EBT eligible families.

P-EBT Card Dormancy

Recently we became aware that some P-EBT 1.0 accounts went into “dormant” status due to lack of use and this resulted in the suspension of some P-EBT accounts. To address this, all dormant P-EBT accounts have been automatically reactivated and clients should have access to their benefits. Looking ahead, we have removed the dormancy trigger for future P-EBT benefit issuances to avoid this issue—however, please note that P-EBT benefits must still be used within one year of receipt before the benefits are expunged from the account.

P-EBT 2.0

Planning for P-EBT 2.0 is still underway. Although we have received federal guidance related to P-EBT for school aged children, the guidance for childcare aged children is still pending. We continue our planning based on th P-EBT guidance we’ve already received from FNS and hope to have more updates for stakeholders soon. Once our P-EBT plan has been submitted to FNS, we will hold a webinar to update our stakeholders regarding plans for P-EBT 2.0.