Dr. William R. Flanary
Director of Schools

Eligible Tennessee families may apply to receive financial support for their children’s nutritional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. This support is provided through the P-EBT program operated through the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS). Please read the press release here. 

Under the new P-EBT program, families of children who receive free or reduced meals at school or attend a Community Eligibility Provision school may receive financial assistance to replace school meals during the months of March, April, and May due to COVID-19 school closures. The program will provide parents with $5.70 per child for each day that child qualifies for P-EBT. 

Parents who do not receive SNAP benefits, but whose children do qualify for free or reduced school meals, will need to apply for P-EBT online here. The application period will end on August 14, 2020 at 5:30pm ET.

Applications are easy to access by scanning the QR code on this flyer (the flyer is also available in Spanish, Arabic, and Somali—all are attached here). An additional Spanish resource can be found here; also, for more details of the program in Spanish please visit this website.

Parents who already receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits currently, do not need to apply. The funds began arriving on the EBT card they already use beginning June 12.

Individuals who need assistance completing their P-EBT application or have general questions about the program are encouraged to call the TDHS hotline at 1-833-496-0661 and select option 3. Qualifying families will receive P-EBT support in two installments, one for meals in March and April initially, and then one additional disbursement later next month for May meals. Please email any questions to P-ebt.dhs@tn.gov.