From Public Health – Seattle & King County

With food insecurity on the rise, emergency food services such as food banks and meal programs are more urgent than ever before.

Public Health and the City of Seattle maintain a map of free food resources across King County that provide emergency food during COVID-19.

The food resource map is updated every two weeks and will soon include updated listings of summer meal locations.

Pandemic EBT Emergency School Meals Program

Due to COVID-19 school closures, families may be eligible for food benefits they previously received through schools through the new Pandemic EBT Emergency School Meals Program or P-EBT.

Any family with a child in grades K-12 who is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals – including any children who go to school where meals are free for all students – can get P-EBT. P-EBT is available to all students regardless of citizenship or immigration status. 

If your family already receives Basic Food through DSHS, you do not need to apply for P-EBT. You will automatically receive this benefit on your EBT card automatically.

Families who are not currently enrolled in either free or reduced lunch programs or Basic Food will first need to reach out to their school district to complete an application for free or reduced-priced school meals before June 30, 2020.

Once families become eligible, they can apply for P-EBT. Eligible families not currently receiving Basic Food can apply for P-EBT online at washingtonconnections.org. The application will be available starting June 28, 2020. 

For more information and to apply, visit washingtonconnection.org or call the WA Department of Social and Health Services at (877-501-2233). The Community Health Access Program is also available to assist families with the enrollment process (1-800-756-5437).

Additional information

• You can read more about the food resource map and evolving food needs amidst COVID-19 in this article on our Public Health Insider.

• More information on P-EBT, including an infographic on eligibility, is available through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

• Public Health is monitoring changes in key economic, social, and other health indicators resulting from strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19. This data can be viewed on our COVID-19 resource website.