The more than 1 million Massachusetts residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be unable to use their EBT cards for a portion of this weekend.
The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance announced that there will be a full EBT outage beginning late Saturday night April 26 and continuing into Sunday April 27.
During the outage period, EBT cardholders will not be able to use them for food and cash purchases or for cash withdrawals.
The DTA said about 1.1 million people in Massachusetts rely on SNAP benefits and nearly all of them access their benefits via an EBT card.
Autumn Barongan grocery shops for her family using her recently replenished EBT on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Fareway in Winterset, Ia.
When will there be an EBT card outage?
The DTA said the outage will begin Saturday, April 26 at 11 p.m. and continue until midday Sunday, April 27.
The agency said a message will be posted online at mass.gov/ebt once cards are available for use again.
After the outage, cardholders will be able to use them as normal and they don’t need to do anything to reactivate.
The DTA said SNAP benefits will not be impacted by the outage, but clients won’t be able to access them during the period.
Why will there be an EBT card outage?
The EBT system will be undergoing maintenance that will require a brief outage period, according to the DTA.
The agency said it is switching which company it uses to issue EBT cards to clients, pay out benefits and manage the EBT system.
Who does the EBT outage affect?
The EBT card outage applies to anyone who receives SNAP benefits from the state. During the maintenance period, these cardholders will be unable to buy food or withdraw cash.
Those who get Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Emergency Aid to the Elderly Disabled and Children benefits on their EBT cards will also be affected by the outage.
Melina Khan is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY Network – New England, which serves more than a dozen affiliated publications across New England. She can be reached at MKhan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Why isn’t my Mass. EBT card working? Is everyone having this problem?
