Families to Receive Enhanced Benefits to Ensure Food Access | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH     To help families access food during the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is temporarily increasing benefits for March 2020 and April 2020 to current Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) recipients in North Carolina. NCDHHS received federal authority to implement the program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 27.

    "People need to be able to feed their families while also practicing good social distancing and following the governor's stay at home order. This will help families make fewer trips to the grocery store and help protect themselves and those in their communities from getting sick," said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D.

    All families that receive FNS will receive the maximum amount allowed for March 2020 and April 2020 for their household size. For example, a family of four would be eligible to receive a total of $646 for each of the two months regardless of their usual benefit amount. The increase is subject to the following guidelines:

  • Households that have already received the maximum amount for their household size will not receive the temporary increase.
  • The household size will not include ineligible or disqualified members.
  • Households that were ineligible in either March 2020 or April 2020 will not receive a temporary increase for the month(s) they were ineligible.

    Approximately 360,000 households will begin receiving the temporary increased benefit on their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card on April 1 and April 22. They will be randomly generated and staggered every other workday until all eligible households have received their temporary increase.

    Recipients will continue to receive their regular benefits and should be aware they will receive two separate payments for March and two for April.

    To check availability of benefits families should:

  • Call 1-888-622-7328.
  • Visit www.ebtedge.com. Click on More Information under EBT Cardholders.
  • Download the ebtEDGE mobile app. The app is available as a free download on the Apple Store and Google Play.

    To help limit the spread of COVID-19, NCDHHS has also received approval to extend FNS certification periods so that beneficiaries don't have to visit county Social Services offices to qualify for continued services.

    In addition, with many businesses closing to reduce the spread of COVID-19, work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents are being temporarily and partially suspended. All eligible beneficiaries are being notified of this change.

    Questions about the emergency supplements and the FNS program should be directed to the EBT Call Center at 1-866-719-0141.

    Families and individuals who do not currently receive benefits can apply online with ePass.


  • NC Department of Health and Human Services
  • 2001 Mail Service Center
  • Raleigh, NC 27699-2001
  • Ph: (919) 855-4840
  • news@dhhs.nc.gov

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




I Know Of What I Speak. As You Read This Blog Posting Remember My Credentials. I Was Employed In The Automotive Industry For More Than 30 Years. North Carolina Health, Body & Soul, Health and Fitness How I Landed on the RabbitPatch - Part I


HbAD0

Latest Health and Fitness

A subsidiary of one of the largest health insurance agencies in the U.S. was hit by a cyberattack earlier this week from what it believes is a foreign “nation-state” actor, crippling many pharmacies’ ability to process prescriptions across the country.
The John Locke Foundation is supporting a New Bern eye surgeon's legal fight against North Carolina's certificate-of-need restrictions on healthcare providers.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the following statement on the Trails Carolina investigation:
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a draft of its 2024-25 Olmstead Plan designed to assist people with disabilities to reside in and experience the full benefit of inclusive communities.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tues., Feb. 20, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how to support and improve heart health as well as prevent and manage heart disease.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is investing $5.5 million into the FIT Wellness program, part of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program in the UNC School of Medicine, to improve reentry services for the justice-involved population.
As of Feb. 1, 2024, 346,408 newly eligible North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid and now have access to comprehensive health care, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard.
Controversy surrounds a healthcare provider’s decision to block parents from having access to their children’s prescription records.
Members of the North Carolina Rural Health Association (NCRHA) visited Washington, D.C., on Feb. 14, 2024, to meet with elected officials and advocate for policies to improve access to care in rural areas.

HbAD1

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the request for proposal to hire the organization that will help manage the Children and Families Specialty Plan.
As part of its commitment to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina children and families, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of its Child Behavioral Health dashboard.
February is National Children's Dental Health Month, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is emphasizing the importance of children's dental hygiene to overall health and well-being.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services distributed funds this week to county departments of social services to help improve placements for children in DSS custody who have complex behavioral health needs.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall Tuesday, Feb. 6, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss Medicaid expansion updates and resources, who is newly eligible and how to apply for health coverage.
A new state audit has revealed a troubling trend for student attendance records in six North Carolina school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is committed to developing a more skilled and satisfied caregiver workforce to improve the quality of care and support available to people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD)
North Carolina leaders today released a new report on the state’s caregiving workforce, announcing the next steps in strengthening this critical group of workers.

HbAD2

 
Back to Top