By Sam Woods
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
Families with children enrolled in a free lunch program through their school or who are receiving FoodShare with children younger than 6 are eligible for a one-time payment of $391 to help offset summer meal costs. (NNS file photo)
Wisconsin has been approved to issue a onetime payment of $391 to parents of children in child care who will receive FoodShare this summer. Parents who have children in the free lunch and breakfast program at their school or kids who were enrolled last school year also are eligible.
The payments are part of the Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, P-EBT, program, which aims to support parents buying food for children over the summer while schools are closed and free school meals are not provided.
This program is technically different from the School-age P-EBT and Pre-6 P-EBT programs, which provide money to eligible parents whose children are not receiving free meals from school or child care due to COVID-19.
Eligible parents should expect to receive the full $391 on Aug. 20 either on their QUEST card or a P-EBT card they previously received. Or they will receive it in the mail if this is the first time they have been eligible for P-EBT.
Parents are eligible to receive the benefit if any of the following are true:
• They will receive Food- Share for June, July or August 2022 and either received Pre-6 P-EBT during the past school year or meet other eligibility requirements
• They have a child enrolled in the free breakfast and lunch program at their school during this past school year (2021-’22) or are enrolled for the upcoming school year (2022-’23)
Parents of children who attend any MPS school or have kids enrolled at most private and charter schools within Milwaukee are eligible to receive free school meals through the Community Eligibility Provision.
Parents with kids who get free meals at school sites, such as MPS’ summer meal sites, are still eligible to receive summer P-EBT should they meet the eligibility requirements above. Parents with questions should contact the P-EBT Support Team at 1-833-431-2224 or PEBTsupport@wisconsin.gov.