SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that families with students who are eligible for free or reduced lunches are eligible to receive hundreds of dollars more in EBT benefits amid the coronavirus pandemic.
California schools shut down for the rest of the school year more than a month ago in efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, many students have begun to do learn virtually, leaving them inside of their homes without the option of getting meals from school.
The additional money through the recently created Pandemic Emergency Benefits Transfer Program (P-EBT) would distribute up to $365 to each of the more than 3.8 million students in California who qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch.
"Those programs are now providing in every case those meals," Newsom said. "So this pandemic EBT program will make available a universe of up to $1.4 billion for 3.8 million eligible families."
Locally, that equates to a majority students enrolled in schools.
According the data from the California Department of Education, in the 2018-2019 school year, about 62.4% of Sacramento County students qualified for free or reduced meals. During that same time, about 66% of students qualified, and in Stanislaus County, about 71% of students qualified.
That's more than 330,000 students in three counties alone who qualify for free and reduced lunches.
Kim Johnson, the director of the California Department of Social Services [CDSS], said that the extra money will help some of the state's most disadvantaged when they might need it most.
"This new functionality will help ensure that Californians, particularly those that are most vulnerable and with the most need, have access to healthy food while staying home and staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic," Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson said CDSS would be continuing to work with the federal government in providing additional resources to students who are impacted by the pandemic.
Those who received free meals from outside of CalFresh would need to apply online for the EBT benefits program, according to the governor's office. The application will be available at the end of May.
The federal government recently approved CDSS's waiver to allow those with EBT cards to be able to purchase their groceries online.
Currently, only Amazon and Walmart are accepting EBT purchases. Other companies might follow in the days to come.
Those who want to apply for EBT benefits, click here.
READ THE LATEST ON ABC10
FOR THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS,
DOWNLOAD OUR APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Daily Blend Newsletter