Families enrolled in P-EBT should be expecting payments in the coming months that cover the current school year and upcoming summer.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources announced plans this week to issue Summer Pandemic EBT benefits to an estimated 530,000 children who receive free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program.

Qualifying households will get $120 for each participating student. The benefits are expected to start rolling out in mid- to late summer.

Read more Ed Lab: Inflation, food deserts leave many Alabama children hungry.

Read more: SNAP benefits cut by almost $180 per household.

The P-EBT program was started by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the beginning of the pandemic to provide payments for eligible children who didn’t receive school lunches because of virtual or hybrid learning.

Students who receive free and reduced-price meals or whose schools participate in the Community Eligibility Provision are eligible for P-EBT, as well as children under the age of 6 who are enrolled in SNAP.

“Inflation has transformed each grocery trip into a balancing act for low-income families struggling to afford food for their children on top of other costs like housing and transportation,” said Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner. “Every dollar of support from programs like P-EBT strengthens their spending power and weakens the prospect of hunger, while promoting nutritious meals for children.”

According to a DHR spokesman, P-EBT benefits covering September through November 2022 are expected to roll out soon for children under age 6 who were enrolled in SNAP during that period; but an exact issuance date has not been set. The benefits will total $19 per month for each eligible child.

DHR said it expects to issue P-EBT benefits covering September 2022 through part of May 2023 for SNAP children under age 6 in three separate allotments, beginning with benefits for September through November 2022.

Those plans, however, are subject to change; a dollar amount has not been determined for the months following November 2022.

A pandemic boost to SNAP payments ended this month. No final date has been set for the end of P-EBT issuances in Alabama.

To become eligible for Summer P-EBT, families may apply for the National School Lunch Program by contacting their schools. Families should contact their schools with any questions about eligibility.

Applications for the lunch program must be approved by May 16 to qualify for Summer P-EBT benefits.