Oregon families to begin receiving $134 million in added food benefits in June

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Erlier this month, the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Department of Education announced that more than 351,000 students receiving free meals from Oregon schools will get additional food benefits for groceries during the school closure.

Households will receive food benefits equivalent to the cost of one lunch and one breakfast for each eligible student – $5.70 per normal school day for the months of March, April, May and June.

Beginning in June, these additional benefits will be automatically deposited for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households to their existing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) accounts on their regular issuance date. Benefits are sent out from the 1st to the 9th of the month, based on the last digit of your SSN.

Students who get free school meals but do not receive SNAP benefits will automatically receive an Oregon Trail Card in the mail in the months of June and July. Parents do not need to apply if their children are part of a school where all students receive free meals.

Families whose children attend participating schools and have experienced significant income loss may have become eligible for free school meals, and there is still time to apply. Apply online at https://www.ode.state.or.us/apps/FRLApp/Default or contact your local school. To find out if your school participates in this program, visit https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/childnutrition/Pages/COVID-19.aspx.

Benefits will be retroactive to March 16, 2020 for students who received free and reduced-price meals when schools closed. For newly eligible free or reduced-price students or SNAP households, benefits will start at the beginning of the month they become eligible. Eligible students will receive the following:

• $69 for March
• $126 in April
• $120 in May
• $69 in June

More information about the program is available at https://govstatus.egov.com/or-dhs-benefits or https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/childnutrition/Documents/FAQ - Parent - Website.pdf.

DHS will continue to work with federal partners to provide greater assistance to Oregonians in need. For more information about food assistance, visit needfood.oregon.gov or call 2-1-1.