Kansas City Public Schools families have until Sunday to get $375 food payment
.jpg "Kansas City Public Schools families are eligible for a $375 food assistance program.")
Families with children who attend Kansas City Public Schools have until Sunday to apply for $375 to help pay for food.
The Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program was created to help low-income families already receiving assistance through their schools with a one-time resource to buy groceries over the summer months. The application has been extended through Sunday, Oct. 10.
The school district posted a message about the Sunday deadline on social media and said all households are eligible, regardless of income. The district has “community eligibility” — meaning every student who was enrolled in the 2020-2021 school year is eligible for the program, the district said. Even if families have been denied food assistance in the past, they qualify for this specific benefit.
The program is an extension of the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), launched last year to assist households with children in remote or virtual schools during the COVID-19 pandemic get resources in lieu of children receiving meals in school.
Food insecurity is a widespread issue throughout Missouri — the state is second only to Arkansas as the most food insecure state in the region.
Lack of access to healthy food is a problem in Kansas City, particularly in the eastern half of the metro.
A recent analysis from The Star found that many of Kansas City’s neighborhoods are struggling with both food insecurity and gun violence. Nearly all of the Kansas City neighborhoods with the highest rates of shootings last year lacked access to a grocery store within half a mile.
WHO CAN APPLY: All Kansas City Public School families and any Missouri family whose child qualifies for free and reduced price lunch at school, or who attends a school where the majority of children qualify for free and reduced lunch — regardless of whether the child was in virtual or in-person school during the 2020-2021 school year. You will automatically get the $375 in summer benefits if you already applied for P-EBT during the 2020-2021 school year, or if your child is under the age of 6 and enrolled in SNAP.
HOW TO APPLY: The application form is online here in English and in Spanish. It must be emailed to FSD.MOPEBT@dss.mo.gov by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 10 or postmarked and in the mail by Saturday, Oct. 9. Mailed applications must be sent to: Family Support Division, 615 E. 13th St, Kansas City, MO 64106. You will need a printer and, if you are using email, a way to scan the signed application to attach it to the email.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 1:13 PM.