Approximately 810,000 Michigan children whose access to school meals
has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have begun to receive food assistance
benefits.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is automatically issuing the
additional benefits now through the end of March. Monthly payments will continue through
June.
This is the second time that Michigan has gained federal approval of Pandemic-EBT benefits.
Last school year Michigan was the first state to qualify for the federal
During the second round of Pandemic- EBT, children will receive up to $741.6 million in
assistance benefits that their families can use to pay for food at stores or online.
Students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 are eligible if they qualify for free or reducedprice lunches at school and in-person learning is not available at their school or is not available on a full-time basis. Pandemic-EBT will provide another way for students who do
not have in-person classes to access food – along with Michigan Department of Education
(MDE) programs that provide meals to students at mobile and stationary locations.
Families will receive an estimated $127.53 monthly for each eligible child who has no in-person classes and attends a school that is fully virtual and about $77.06 for each eligible
child who attends a school with a hybrid schedule of in-person and remote learning. Monthly
benefits will vary based on the number of school days in each month.
Benefits are retroactive to September, with assistance from September through February
paid this month. Payments will be paid automatically, so families do not need to apply to
receive the assistance. Households that already receive food assistance will receive the
Pandemic-EBT payments on their Bridge Cards. Families that do not already receive food
assistance will receive Pandemic-EBT cards in the mail that they can use to purchase food.
After Michigan qualified for Pandemic-EBT last school year, new federal rules for approval of
Round 2 funding for this school year delayed Michigan’s approval. President Joe Biden’s
administration provided increased flexibility that allowed Michigan to be approved.
The food assistance benefits will go to Michigan families with students ages 5-18 who are
enrolled in the MDE program for students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
Prior to receiving their EBT card, families will receive a letter from MDHHS describing how to
use the card, how to set up a PIN and other information about food assistance benefits. The
cards can be used much like a debit card for food purchased from Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) retailers.
Families can find a list of SNAP retailers on the SNAP Retailers website. They also can use
their benefits online to purchase food from Amazon, Walmart or Aldi.
More information can be found on the MDHHS Pandemic-EBT webpage. Families that have
questions can email MDHHS-PEBT@michigan.gov.
