Richmond County Schools not eligible for P-EBT program

ROCKINGHAM — Late last month, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced it would provide additional benefits to families through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program — but Richmond County wasn’t on the list.

“Based on the new guidance from the USDA, the eligibility requirements for P-EBT changed for fall 2020,” said Richmond County Schools Public Information Officer Jasmine Hager. “So, families that were eligible for P-EBT in the spring might not have been eligible in the fall based on the new criteria.”

According to DHHS, those new criteria included:

• If they (students) had access to free or reduced-priced meals at school last year;
• if their school district or charter school is eligible to provide free or reduced-priced meals at school this year; and 
• their school district or charter school utilized virtual learning for all students for at least five consecutive school days between Aug. 17 and Sept. 30.

According to Hager, it was that third requirement that RCS did not meet.

However, 114 public school districts and charter schools were eligible for the new benefits, including Anson, Montgomery, Scotland and Robeson counties’ districts.