More than 150,000 Maine students have received federally-funded EBT cards to purchase food.
The benefit cards are the last round of a pandemic benefit that provides nutrition funding for school-age children who learned remotely during the pandemic or were absent due to illness caused by COVID-19.
The cards have generated some confusion in households that received them in the mail, and did not know why. The cards were not issued based on financial circumstances. Under Maine's universal lunch program, all students at schools who participate in the program are eligible.
Maine's Department of Health and Human Services says the average benefit is between $40 to $120 a month per student.
The cards cannot be used to purchase food for anyone outside the student's household.
The Department says families don't have to use the cards. Any unused funds will be returned to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
