Second round of P-EBT benefits available for qualified families

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Department of Human and Social Services, has confirmed registration is now open for the second round of the P-EBT benefits.

The statement issued says this is for parents of children who were enrolled in ECE through grade 12 in all public and private schools during School Year 2021-2022 that ended June 10, 2022.

Registration kicked off on Wednesday.

 “As with the first round of P-EBT in 2021, DHSS and the Department of Education will issue P-EBT benefits through the American Samoa Nutrition Assistance Program (ASNAP) in the form of food stamp coupons.

The P-EBT program is funded through an $8.8 million grant from the Food and Nutrition Service under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).”

This was approved for SY 2021-2022 on March 22, 2022, while administrative funding to pay for implementing the program was approved on June 20, 2022.

 “American Samoa’s P-EBT state plan covers 76 days from February 22, 2022, to June 10, 2022, when schools were closed and some were later reopened on May 2, 2022, on a hybrid learning schedule due to the first community spread of the coronavirus in the Territory.”

The program will provide up to $629 in food coupons for each child or $8.28 per day for up to 76 days when school children were on virtual learning from home and lost access to free meals at school.

 “Unlike the first round of P-EBT in 2021 where parents registered using our online public portal and paper applications, we are now requiring all parents and legal guardians to only register using our online registration public portal.

 “This is a full service public portal where parents and legal guardians set up their accounts, register their children, upload documents that may be required, and receive immediate approval if their names and their children’s names that they enter into the public portal match the names on the official school enrollment records.

 “The full names of the parents/ legal guardians and their children that appear on the school enrollment records must be entered into the registration public portal for your registration to be approved right away.”

If the names of the parent, legal guardian, or children are not consistent with the names on the official school enrollment records, you will be asked to call the ASNAP Office for more information.

Parents will not be required to come to the office to register except to take a PEBT photo ID and/or to pick up benefits. If you still have your P-EBT ID card from 2021, you do not need to take another P-EBT ID but wait for an announcement when benefits will be issued.”

For registration visit www.asnap.as

The P-EBT benefits will be ready for distribution around August 15, 2022.