The DCF debit card you got in the mail isn't a scam. Why you should use the food benefit

Kate Sadoff, Burlington Free Press
·3 min read
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If you’ve received a debit card in the mail, don’t throw it out; it’s not a scam!

If you have a child in a Vermont public school, you’ll be getting a food benefit. Keep your eyes peeled for mail with the Vermont Department of Children and Families' logo.

The Economic Services Division of Vermont’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) is distributing Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to families with school-aged children, to make up for food benefits children may have missed due to COVID-19.

Though food benefit distribution has been underway for some time, households are now beginning to receive P-EBTs.

“We want to make sure no child goes hungry during this health crisis,” DCF Commissioner Chris Winters said in an April news release. “The P-EBT benefit will provide much needed support to Vermont households that typically rely on free or reduced meals at school to feed their children.”

How much money is on the card

The minimum amount of money on the card will be $120.

Benefits increase depending on whether or not a child missed school for reasons related to COVID-19. Benefits are $8.18 for each day an eligible child missed.

Residents who get 3SquaresVT benefits will be issued this additional benefit on their card.

Parents may have received a P-EBT debit card from Vermont's Department for Children and Families Economic Services Division in July 2023. It was mailed in a large envelope and included this brochure.
Parents may have received a P-EBT debit card from Vermont's Department for Children and Families Economic Services Division in July 2023. It was mailed in a large envelope and included this brochure.

Use it or it goes back to the federal government

Benefits not used for 274 days will disappear permanently from the holder's account and go back to the federal government.

For people that don’t feel comfortable using benefits for themselves, DCF encourages folks to buy food and donate it to a local food bank.

Vermont families may have received a P-EBT card in the mail that came pre-loaded with at least $120 be used on food purchases.
Vermont families may have received a P-EBT card in the mail that came pre-loaded with at least $120 be used on food purchases.

Why did I get a debit card from Vermont's DCF

Children eligible to receive the P-EBT must attend a school that offers free meals to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2; all children attending public schools in Vermont from the year 2022-23 are eligible, with no income threshold.

Vermont will issue $9.9 million to approximately 80,565 students in 53,535 households over the course of this summer, according to the DCF.

The benefits come through the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which issued temporary assistance to households without access to meals for children in schools. It allows federal approval benefits to be issued through summer 2023, through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT card systems. 

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How to activate the debit card

People receiving the P-EBT should be receiving two letters from the Department of Children and Families – one containing the card and brochure discussing the terms of the card, and the other containing information on how to activate the card.

A Vermont P-EBT card that was received in the mail on July 26, 2023. The card has $120 of pandemic relief money to be used on food purchases.
A Vermont P-EBT card that was received in the mail on July 26, 2023. The card has $120 of pandemic relief money to be used on food purchases.

To activate the card, one needs a birth date and a Social Security number, though neither of those are the recipient's actual birth date and Social Security number. It is your child’s birthdate and a number issued by DCF.

People that do not receive all materials, or have issues setting up their P-EBT, should contact the Economic Services Division at DCF at 1-800-479-6151.

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Where to use it

EBTs can be used at any participating stores, ATMs and farmers’ markets. The DFC has a website that locates participating stores near you.

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA) is offering a program to multiply 3SquaresVT or SNAP benefits into "Crop Cash," when benefits are used at farmers' markets. More information about using benefits at farmers' markets can be found on NOFA’s website.

Visit https://dcf.vermont.gov/benefits/ebt or call 1-800-479-6151 to learn more about the EBTs or to get assistance activating your card.

Contact Free Press reporter Kate Sadoff at ksadoff@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont food benefit sent to many school-aged children as COVID relief