Cindy Gonzalez
Nebraska ExaminerLINCOLN — Nebraska families have yet to claim as much as $6.6 million in grocery assistance that was issued last year in a child-focused food program — and only days remain to tap the funds before they revert to the federal government.
The amount left on the table is from a federal program launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to help feed low-income youths during the time they were not in school.
Known as P-EBT, or Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, the program is a predecessor to the similar but separate Summer EBT program that has drawn extensive attention in Nebraska because Gov. Jim Pillen declined, at first, to accept the federal food aid for kids.
Expiration looms
Here’s the status of last year’s funding, according to public records obtained from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services: Nearly $17 million in federal food aid benefits were issued in September 2023 for the P-EBT program. About 140,000 eligible Nebraska youths were each to have received $120 loaded onto wallet-sized plastic “electronic benefit transfer” cards.
Such cards are used essentially like debit cards to pay for food at participating grocery stores.
As of the end of April, state records show that $6.6 million had yet to be accessed or spent. That equates to about 55,000 students not having used their cards.
An expiration date looms.
If cards are not activated within 274 days from when they were issued, the benefits are expunged. The bulk of Nebraska’s 2023 summer P-EBT cards were issued on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14, DHHS said, so the funds expire on June 14 and June 16, respectively.
A small portion of cards were issued Sept. 28, and those expire June 30.
The 274-day count restarts whenever a family makes a purchase. So if a family made a purchase this week, they’d have more time to spend the remainder of the benefits issued to the card, DHHS said.
Why not tapped?
Reasons as to why the free grocery aid has been left unclaimed can range from families’ lack of awareness or understanding, to cards being sent to former addresses, to families choosing not to participate, say those familiar with the program.
“That is a pretty high percentage. It shows there is more work to be done to get the word out to the community.”
– Eric Savaiano, Nebraska Appleseed economic justice manager, food and nutrition access
Nebraska DHHS spokesman Jeff Powell said in a statement that the state agency can’t speculate as to why families haven’t used the funds issued to them. But he added: “The amount of unspent benefits is not out of the ordinary for federal benefits such as these.”
He said the department “is reaching out to households whose benefits are potentially being expunged.” The statement did not elaborate on the type of outreach, or what the results have been so far.
To bring awareness to the federal pandemic-era program, Powell said, DHHS had issued press releases and created a page on its website. Information included eligibility and frequently asked questions. He said schools also provided information to eligible families.
Funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program aimed to provide benefits to children eligible for free and reduced-price meals through their school who lost access to food due to school closures and adjusted schedules.
Kids who receive SNAP benefits or other public assistance were to see the pandemic grocery aid added to existing EBT cards. Other eligible households that don’t receive that kind of public assistance were to receive a card via the U.S. Postal Service.
Shocking
The amount of unclaimed 2023 EBT benefits surprised even Eric Savaiano of Nebraska Appleseed, who works with food and nutrition initiatives. He and Appleseed helped lead an effort this year to bring awareness to Nebraskans about the Summer EBT program.
“That is a pretty high percentage,” Savaiano said of funds unclaimed from the pandemic grocery aid. “It shows there is more work to be done to get the word out to the community.”
Savaiano suspects the primary reason for not using the grocery aid is unawareness, though some might choose not to participate. He said a slice of families, for instance, might have received a card because they are in a “community eligibility provision” school site, where free and reduced lunches are based on community needs and not necessarily individual household income.
State Sen. Jen Day, who led a letter-writing campaign among lawmakers to urge Nebraska’s participation in the 2024 Summer EBT program, agreed with DHHS that unspent benefits are typical in public assistance programs.
But she hopes the state continues to seek better efficiency in reaching those in need, including families whose first language is not English.
“We have to work on streamlining and becoming more efficient with the application process,” she said.
Other states
Indeed, unclaimed funds in the previous youth-focused pandemic grocery aid program provides useful lessons for this summer’s EBT program, which was recently launched, says David Rubel, a New York City-based consultant who has looked into pandemic EBT use and unexpended funds in other states as well as Nebraska.
Rubel sought public records from several states, including Nebraska. His research also showed that in summer 2022, about 30% of the grocery aid cards issued to Nebraska residents expired, leaving millions of dollars unspent. That unused portion of cards was a higher share than in the five other states he looked into that year.
This year, Nebraska was among the first states to start issuing benefits for the Summer EBT 2024 program. Participating families in the current program have 122 days to spend the full amount of $120 per child. Any money not spent on Day 123 is to be automatically removed.
Given the large number of families that have not used previous benefits, Rubel recommends that states undertake publicity campaigns to ensure maximum usage and to underscore the 122-day spend-or-lose rule. He said school districts are key since they typically have text, email and most current family contact information.
Said Rubel: “Summer-EBT — with a potential $21 million for struggling Nebraska families — is an opportunity to right the ship.”
Current Summer EBT program
In the current Summer EBT program, DHHS estimates that 175,000 students or 80,000 households will be eligible to receive the grocery benefits.
Eligible families will receive $40 per child per month, or a total of $120 per child, for the summer period.
DHHS has created a Summer EBT website page that contains “a wealth of information,” said Powell. The outreach plan includes social media campaigns, press releases and information for additional resources as part of Pillen’s “Nebraska Solution” plan.
He said that eligible families should also receive a letter from the Nebraska Department of Education about participation. So far this summer, Powell said, DHHS has issued benefits to 130,148 eligible children.
“Continued issuances are planned throughout the summer for additional children determined eligible for the program,” he said.