COLUMBIA, S.C. — The deadline for parents to verify their information for a program to ensure kids don't go hungry in the 2023-2024 school year has been extended.
The new deadline is 9 p.m. Sunday, August 13, to verify information for the Pandemic EBT program.
According to the Department of Social Services, 500,000 students throughout the state could qualify for the program. On Thursday, August 10, DSS says more than 10,000 parents went online to verify their addresses, bringing the number to 89,000. Because of the high number of verifications, the agency decided to extend the deadline.
"We know that children are very expensive to feed and we want to provide this resource to South Carolina families," said DSS director of communications Connelly-Anne Ragley.
If a child was approved for free or reduced-price meals at the end of the 2022-2023 school year or attended a school that participated in the Community Eligibility Provision, they are eligible.
The agency says, first, parents must take action to secure their benefits in September. Parents must go online and verify their mailing addresses through the DSS online portal. This address verification extension will not delay the distribution of P-EBT cards to eligible students planned for mid-September 2023.
Purchasing rules are the same for SNAP benefits, and the cards are accepted anywhere that accepts SNAP.
More information about the program can be found online through the Department of Social Services.
