Extra Food Benefits for Children
The Pandemic - Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) Program was created in Spring 2020 to provide funds for families to buy food while schools were closed due to COVID-19. More P-EBT funds are being issued for the 2020-2021 school year.
Families that are not directly certified, but would qualify as free or reduced lunch, need to fill out a meal application. Once approved, the student will be recognized by the Department of Education. Once the sharing of information is complete, you should receive a P-EBT notice from Dept. Of Transitional Assistance. If you need a meal application, they are available here.
Massachusetts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online purchasing program. Massachusetts residents who receive SNAP benefits can use their EBT card to buy food online from ALDI, Amazon and Walmart through the 2020-2021 school year. More info: https://www.mass.gov/snap-online-purchasing-program
From the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) with families:
How to Activate (PIN) a P-EBT Card
You will need the letter DTA sent you in the mail to activate the card.
The Massachusetts EBT vendor was not able to change the automated prompts you hear when you call to PIN a card, and unfortunately, some of the automated instructions are inaccurate for P-EBT cards. Instead, please follow the steps below:
Call the EBT card phone number on the back of your P-EBT card: 800-997-2555.
Enter your P-EBT card number (it is an 18-digit number).
You will then be prompted incorrectly to enter the last four digits of your Social Security number. Do not enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. For the P-EBT cards, you must enter the last four digits of your child's case number that was provided on the DTA letter you received in the mail.
Then enter your child's date of birth using a two-digit month, two-digit day, and four-digit year (example: 04/06/2005).
For more information, visit: map-ebt.org. Questions? Call Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline at 800-645-8333.
Help with P-EBT Cards:
To activate (or PIN) a P-EBT card, families will need the letter that the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) sent them, which contains their child’s case number. If families lost the letter or never received one, they can go to DTAConnect.com/pebt to get their child’s case number. The tool at that link will pre-populate with the standard first 10 digits of the P-EBT card. Please note that the tool is not available on the DTA Connect mobile app.
Families that have their child’s case number can use the following instructions: (The Massachusetts EBT vendor was not able to change the automated prompts callers hear when they call to PIN any EBT card [SNAP, TAFDC, or P-EBT], and unfortunately, some of the automated instructions should be different for P-EBT cards.)
Call the EBT card phone number on the back of the P-EBT card: 800-997-2555.
Enter the P-EBT card number (it is an 18-digit number).
Callers will then be prompted to enter the last four digits of their Social Security number. Do not enter the last 4 digits of a Social Security number. For the P-EBT cards, callers must enter the last four digits of their child's case number that was provided on the DTA letter they received in the mail.
Then enter the child's date of birth using a two-digit month, two-digit day, and four-digit year (example: 04/06/2005).
For more information, visit:
Massachusetts Pandemic EBT program
To download and print the free and reduced meals application, click here.
After the application is filled out, mail it to:
Food Services Department
Attn: Free and Reduced Meals Program
211 Cushing Street
Stoughton, MA 02072
