New Mexico’s Human Services Department and Public Education Department partner to issue another round of Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) to students who qualify for free or reduced meal program and who continue remote or hybrid learning model for the 2020-2021 school year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture allocated more than $27 million monthly in additional benefits for New Mexico – enough to feed more than 246,000 vulnerable children each month.
“These very important benefits will continue to provide nutritional assistance to New Mexico families,” said Human Services Department Deputy Secretary, Angela Medrano.
Eligibility for the P-EBT program is determined by the New Mexico Public Education Department, which shares student information with the Human Services Department to issue benefits through P-EBT cards. The P-EBT program applies to all eligible students regardless of their family’s SNAP eligibility. In addition, New Mexico households with children who receive free or reduced-price meals will see an increase in their P-EBT benefits from $5.86 to $6.82 per child per day.
Each issuance will include at least two months of benefits. Previous P-EBT benefits were issued through the month of September 2020. The tentative P-EBT issuance schedule is as follows:
Benefit Month(s) | Issuance Date |
October – November 2020 | February 28, 2021 |
December 2020 – January 2021 | March 28, 2021 |
February – March 2021 | TBD |
April – May 2021 | TBD |
June 2021 | TBD |
P-EBT cards for newly eligible P-EBT students will be mailed on March 8, please allow 7-10 days for mail delivery. Human Services Department will not issue new P-EBT cards to existing P-EBT households. If the household no longer has their P-EBT card, they can request a new card by:
For additional information or eligibility questions please call the P-EBT hotline at 1-833-415-0569. For frequently asked questions and to view the amount of benefits issued based on each school schedule, please visit: Help Feed Your Children with Pandemic EBT | New Mexico Human Services Department (state.nm.us).
The Human Services Department provides services and benefits to more than 1 million New Mexicans through several programs including: the Medicaid Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Support Program, and several Behavioral Health Services.