COLUMBIA, S.C. — Over 500,000 children in kindergarten through 12th grade in the state can receive the P-EBT card if they attend a school that participated in the Community Eligibility Provision.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services asks parents, guardians and caretakers to verify their personal information by Sunday to ensure their benefits are sent to the correct address.
Connelly-Anne Ragley is the Communications and External Affairs director at the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Ragley said that families with multiple eligible children should look out for a card for each child.
"The P-EBT is a federal program its funded fully with federal funds, and each eligible child will receive a card with $120 on it," said Ragley. "It's a one-time lumps sum payment; it will not be replenished or refilled. And if a household has several children that are eligible. Each child will receive their own card."
Dontell Bell is a Lower Richland High School parent who said the extended deadline will make a difference for many unaware.
"I do think it's important cause just before this weekend," said Bell. "I just found out so maybe in the future when this gets out more people will know about it after this weekend."
Theo Hart is a parent at Lower Richland High School and Gadsden Elementary School. He believes programs like this keep children from going hungry.
"Throughout the summer holidays making sure every child has a meal as if they were in school and I think its a good program," said Hart. "I just hope they keep it up."
Ragley believes this verification extension will prevent cards from being issued and returned.
"The last time that we issued P-EBT at DSS, we had thousands of cards that were returned to the office," said Ragley. "Due to maybe a bad mailing address, or unable to forward. At the end of the at this is going to save taxpayer dollars because we are not having to pay to mail a card a second time or to have maybe a card destroyed and reissued."
More information about the Pandemic EBT is online through the Department of Social Services.