Oregon Approved to Issue an Additional $46 Million in Pandemic EBT Food Assistance to 80,000 Young Children

(Salem) – The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) received approval from the federal government to provide additional food benefits for young children whose families received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits between September 2021 and May 2022.

These additional food benefits will provide approximately $46 million in additional food assistance for 80,000 young children in Oregon. The additional food benefits will be issued to families’ existing EBT cards in Fall 2022, with the exact dates yet to be determined.

“We are grateful to be able to provide these additional food benefits to families with young children in Oregon,” said Jana McLellan, interim director of the ODHS Self-Sufficiency Programs. “As communities continue to be impacted by COVID-19 and the rising cost of food, we know that many families are experiencing hardship and are struggling to get enough healthy food for themselves and their children. We encourage anyone who is struggling to meet their basic needs to contact our partners at 211, the Oregon Food Bank and their local Community Action Agency for support during this difficult time.”

Eligibility for P-EBT food benefits

Families must have received SNAP benefits at any time between September 2021 and May 2022.Children in the family who were age 5 and under at any time during this period are eligible to receive additional food benefits.Families will receive the additional food benefits for every month during this period that:One or more children in their household were ages 5 and youngerThe family was receiving SNAP benefits.

Eligible families will receive an extra $63 food benefit per child on their EBT card for every month the children were ages 5 or younger and their family was receiving SNAP benefits. Families can receive up to $567 in additional food benefits for each child who is eligible.