HSD News:

SANTA FE — Families for around 39,520 New Mexico school-aged students grade level K-12 will receive benefits May 22, to reimburse them for free and reduced-price school meals missed due to COVID-related absences.

Approximately $2,384,826 in Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) will be issued to cover meals K-12 students missed in December 2021 and January 2022, after schools returned to in-person learning. The issuance amount is $7.10 per day the child was absent from school due to COVID.

Beginning May 24, parents and guardians will be able to check whether their child qualified for the latest P-EBT issuance at the VERIFY P-EBT Information section of the Human Services Department’s (HSD) YesNM portal.  

“Good nutrition is essential fuel to focus and learn in school as well as grow in life,” said Angela Medrano, deputy cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department. “The goal of this assistance is to not just reimburse families, but to also help provide continued care for New Mexico’s children.” 

If your child has a P-EBT card, please keep the card and do not destroy it. If a new address or guardian was reported to the school, a new P-EBT card will be sent to the new address. 

For questions regarding your child’s P-EBT card, you can contact NM PEBT Hotline at 1.833.415.0569. For questions regarding absences reported for your child, contact the child’s school.

Answers to other frequently asked questions can also be found online.

HSD would like to remind New Mexicans who receive SNAP food benefits that they can double up food bucks and purchase more fruits and vegetables when they spend SNAP EBT card dollars at participating farmers markets, farm stands, mobile markets and grocery stores. For example, if you spend $10 from your SNAP EBT Card at a participating outlet, they will give you another $10 to buy fresh fruits and veggies grown in New Mexico.

There are nearly 80 locations across New Mexico. Learn more here.