LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Seeing a SNAP or P-EBT card like this come in the mail, addressed to your child might come as a surprise for many parents.
Governor Ron DeSantis approved the P-EBT or Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer to keep children fed who missed out of meals provided by free and reduced lunch programs at school. However, when schools closed due to Coronavirus, kids couldn't receive those meals.
Here in Lee County students who attend any one of the 79 schools inside the district automatically qualify for free lunch, meaning they also automatically qualify for the P-EBT cards.
“ You don’t have to apply, you don’t have to meet income requirements, you simply are automatically eligible because the whole county is,” said Rob Spicker, Lee County School District - Media Relations.
However, the same cannot be said for Charlotte and Collier County.
“Because of the CEP program every family automatically qualifies and that’s not necessarily the case in our surrounding counties, where they have had to submit the paperwork and meet income requirements,” said Spicker.
Each child in Lee County will receive $5.70 per day for 55 days. This money is only to be spent on groceries from chains like Publix and Target.
One mom in Cape Coral told us she and her family will not be using the P-EBT program.
“The pandemic has created unprecedented times that we’ve never been through, personally for our family, I don’t want to take food out of families mouths that need it.”
However, she's happy to know leaders are doing what they can to help feed children during this time.
“For them to go out of the way to make sure children are fed especially during a pandemic is phenomenal”.
The Department of Children and Families says each family should receive their P-EBT cards in the mail no later than June 30.
