P-EBT in Kentucky: Summer EBT Auto-Enrollment and How to Apply

P-EBT in Kentucky has ended. The pandemic program stopped after the federal public health emergency expired, and Congress replaced it with a permanent summer program. Kentucky began issuing Summer EBT benefits in 2024, and eligible school-aged children now receive a one-time payment of $120 per summer in grocery benefits loaded onto an EBT card.1Food and Nutrition Service. Summer EBT

What Replaced P-EBT in Kentucky

Summer EBT covers only the summer months when school is out, not the school year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture runs the program federally, while the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Department for Community Based Services handle eligibility and card issuance inside the state.1Food and Nutrition Service. Summer EBT

One change matters for younger families. P-EBT reached children under age six in SNAP households. Summer EBT in Kentucky is aimed at school-aged children, ages 6 to 17. Younger children in SNAP households continue to get food help through the regular SNAP benefit rather than Summer EBT.2Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer

If you still have an old P-EBT card sitting in a drawer, any balance may already be gone. EBT accounts expire after a set period of inactivity. Call Kentucky EBT customer service at 1-888-979-9949 to check.

Who Gets Summer EBT Automatically

Many Kentucky children are enrolled without an application. Your child qualifies automatically if any of these apply:2Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer

  • The child attends a school in the National School Lunch Program and is already approved for free or reduced-price meals.
  • The child attends an NSLP-participating school and is in foster care, homeless, migrant, or classified as a runaway.
  • The child is between ages 6 and 17 and the household received SNAP, the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP), or Kinship Care for at least one month since July 1, 2025.

Children at schools that use the Community Eligibility Provision, where all students eat free, are also covered. If a CEP school has not sent in the information confirming a specific child’s eligibility, that family may still need to apply.2Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer

How to Apply If You Are Not Automatically Enrolled

Families whose children are not automatically enrolled can still qualify. The child must attend a school participating in the National School Lunch Program, and the household must meet federal income guidelines for free or reduced-price meals.2Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer

Applications go through the Kentucky SEBT portal at kysebt.ky.gov or through kynect. Paper applications are available at any local DCBS office. For Summer 2026, the deadline is August 15, 2026.

Private school students can apply if they meet the income rules. The process is the same, except they do not need to provide a Statewide Student Identifier. Homeschooled children may qualify if they can be directly certified through SNAP, Medicaid, or a similar program. A homeschooled child who is not in a qualifying assistance program and does not attend an NSLP school will have trouble qualifying, because the program is built around the school meal system.2Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer

Information You Need

The most important item is the child’s Statewide Student Identifier (SSID), a unique 10-digit number assigned by the school. Parents can find it by logging into Infinite Campus, Kentucky’s student information system, or by asking the child’s school or district office directly.2Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer

You will also need the child’s full legal name as it appears in school records, date of birth, the school’s name, and a current mailing address. Wrong or outdated information is the most common reason benefits get delayed. If you have moved since the last school year, update your address through the SEBT portal before the summer issuance window.

When the Card Arrives and How to Use It

Kentucky mails Summer EBT cards to eligible households through standard mail. The envelope comes from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and can look like ordinary government correspondence, so check your mail carefully. Benefits usually arrive as a one-time payment by late June.

Activate the card by setting a four-digit PIN, either online at the ebtEDGE cardholder portal with the 16-digit card number on the front, or by calling 1-888-979-9949. Keep the card after you spend the balance. Future summer benefits may be loaded onto the same card instead of a new one.

You can check your remaining balance three ways:

  • Online through the ebtEDGE website using your card number and PIN.
  • By calling 1-888-979-9949, available 24 hours a day and in multiple languages.
  • On the bottom of any store receipt after an EBT purchase.

If the card is lost, stolen, or damaged, call 1-888-979-9949 right away to deactivate it and request a replacement. A new card will be mailed to the address on file.

What You Can Buy and Where

Summer EBT follows SNAP purchasing rules. You can buy groceries meant to be prepared at home: bread, cereal, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy, and seeds or plants that produce food.3Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy

You cannot use the card for hot prepared foods, alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, vitamins or medicines, household supplies, or pet food. Items with a “Supplement Facts” label count as supplements and are not eligible.3Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy

The card works at any retailer authorized to accept SNAP, including Walmart, Kroger, ALDI, Food Lion, and many smaller grocery and convenience stores. Most Kentucky farmers markets take EBT as well.

You can also shop online. Kentucky participates in the USDA’s SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, and Amazon, Walmart, Kroger, ALDI, and Food City have been approved for online EBT orders, with pickup or delivery depending on the store.4Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Update on SNAP Online Purchasing Program Only SNAP-eligible food can be charged to the card. Delivery fees have to be paid another way.

If Your Child Is Denied

You can request a fair hearing if Summer EBT is denied and you believe the decision is wrong. Kentucky gives you 90 days from the date on the denial notice to file. Start the process by calling 1-855-306-8959, submitting a written request at any DCBS office, or mailing a request to the Division of Administrative Hearings in Frankfort.

At the hearing, you or someone representing you can explain the disagreement. If the hearing officer finds an error, you get the benefits that were wrongly denied. One detail catches families off guard: if you want any existing benefits to keep coming during the appeal, you have to request the hearing within 10 days of the denial notice and specifically ask that current benefits continue. Waiting longer does not cost you the appeal, but benefits may stop until the hearing is decided.