Report by Paula Antolini, August 7, 2021, 12:38PM EDT
08/06/2021 – The Connecticut Department of Social Services, in consultation with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and State Department of Education, today announced that $31.2 million in special food assistance benefits will be distributed Sunday, August 8, 2021, to the families of over 55,000 children under age 6 enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Specific information about the August 8 distribution of Pandemic EBT Child Care benefits:
- The Department of Developmental Services will deposit benefits onto existing SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards on August 8, 2021, to nearly 41,000 households (55,000 eligible children) who were under age six as of October 1, 2020, unless the child already received Pandemic EBT Children in School benefits by being enrolled in the free or reduced-price meals program at their school.
- Benefits may differ from family to family and depend on how many months the child received SNAP between October 2020 and June 2021.
- Each eligible household whose child received SNAP benefits in all months from October 2020 through June 2021 will receive $716.10 per eligible child. Households whose child began receiving SNAP benefits after October 1, 2020, or ended before June 30, 2021, will receive a lower amount.
- The Department of Developmental Services began sending letters to all eligible households on August 6, 2021, notifying them of these benefits.
- Families do not need to apply for P-EBT benefits, as the Department of Social Services uses SNAP eligibility information to determine if children are eligible for P-EBT Child Care benefits.
Benefits can be used at any location that accepts SNAP/EBT cards. This includes famers markets and direct market farms. In fact, enrollees can double the value of P-EBT or other SNAP benefits at farmers markets that are participating in CT Fresh Match. Additional information on that program can be found online at www.endhungerct.org/services/farmers-markets.
P-EBT participants will also have online access to eligible food purchases through delivery or curbside pickup at participating retailers Amazon, Aldi, Price Chopper/Market 32 via Instacart, BJ’s Wholesale Clubs, ShopRite, and Walmart. Additional information on that is available at www.ct.gov/snap.
Food budgets can be stretched further with WIC. Households with kids under age 5, new parents, and pregnant or breastfeeding women may be eligible to receive healthy foods, free nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to helpful resources. To apply or learn more, visit portal.ct.gov/DPH/WIC/WIC.
The Department of Social Services received information from the Office of Early Childhood and the State Department of Education to implement the P-EBT Child Care plan, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. The P-EBT Child Care SNAP funding was authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, with additional amendments made in the Continuing Appropriations Act and Other Extensions Act of 2021, as well as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
###