End of Year P-EBT Information for Families

As we near the end of the school year, we are asking schools to share one last P-EBT communication with households to reduce some confusion around activating Summer P-EBT cards. All public schools and any independent schools that provide free meals to all students through CEP or Provision 2 are asked to share the below notice in end of year newsletters or other communications with households. For questions, please contact Rosie Krueger at mary.krueger@vermont.gov.

All students at our school will be receiving the Summer P-EBT benefit of $120 which can be spent on food at the grocery store, farmers markets, and some convenience stores and online retailers.

• If your family has previously received a P-EBT benefit or receives 3SquaresVT, the summer benefit will be added to your existing card in late July or early August. If you have lost or thrown away your card, please call 1‐800‐479‐6151, option 7 for a replacement card.
• If you have never received a P-EBT benefit for any children in your household, you will be mailed a new card in late July or early August. You will be mailed instructions for activating the new card in a separate letter. These instructions include a 9-digit number that you will need to use instead of your social security number when you activate the card or when you call the call center. It is not a real social security number. To activate the card, enter the last four digits of the number in the letter when you are asked for the last four digits of your social security number. You will also need to enter the date of birth of your oldest child listed in the letter using 8 digits in a MM/DD/YYYY format. Please look for the letter in the mail and do not throw it away. Both the card and the letter will be mailed by the Vermont Department of Children and Families.

If your address changes over the summer, please call 1‐800‐479‐6151, option 7 to update your address.

All students at our school are entitled to receive this benefit. If you do not wish to use your benefit to buy food for your own family, we encourage you to use it to buy food for a local food pantry. Benefits that are not used will be sent back to the federal government. You may not give your card to anyone else, but you may buy food for others with the card.

If you have more questions about P-EBT, please visit the P-EBT website.

Resources for Households Facing Summertime Food Insecurity
As the end of the school year nears, some students may be facing summertime food insecurity.  Please take the opportunity to remind households that they can find open summer meal sites serving children 18 and under by visiting the USDA Meal Finder, by calling 2-1-1 or by texting FOOD to 304-304.  Information about summer meal sites will start to populate in these locations next week and will be updated on a weekly basis throughout the summer.  In addition, we encourage you to share the “Stretch Your Budget with Vermont Food Programs” one page resource with households.  This handout provides information on summer meal sites as well as many other food resources.

Mission

Children are at the heart of all we do. We nurture a child's curiosity, ignite enthusiasm for exploring, develop tools for inquiry, for invention, for achievement. We welcome families into a community-wide collaboration to help our children grow into their best selves - responsible citizens and stewards of the greater world, makers of the future.