Ohio residents enrolled in the food assistance, cash assistance programs will receive new benefits cards

Ohio residents who are enrolled in the state's food assistance or cash assistance programs will soon be receiving new benefits cards.

Program recipients do not need to fill out any paperwork to get the new cards and they should have already received letters informing them that the new cards will be arriving this summer. The exact dates that households receive the new cards will vary depending on several factors. Food assistance and cash assistance recipients whose addresses have changed recently need to make sure that they report the address change to their case managers in order to ensure proper and timely delivery of their new cards.

The food assistance card will look different but will still be called the Ohio Direction Card.

The cash assistance card, which is currently called the EPPICard, will be replaced by the Ohio Pathway Card.

The new cards will work exactly like the current cards work. Recipients are encouraged to activate their new cards as soon as they receive them.

Recipients are also encouraged to hold onto the current cards for the time being, just to make sure that the state’s transition to the new cards goes smoothly.

Balances on the Ohio EPPICard will NOT transfer to the new Ohio Pathway Card. Recipients are instructed to use their Ohio EPPICard until it has a $0.00 balance. It is not currently clear if the July benefits will be placed onto the Ohio Pathway Cards or onto the Ohio EPPICards.

Ohio Residents who have Ohio EPPICards with balances and need a replacement card should call the Ohio EPPICard Customer Service phone number at 1-866-320-8822 for a replacement card.

Recipients needing to activate their new Ohio Pathway Card should call the Ohio Pathway Card Customer Service phone number at 1-866-669-6109 or log onto www.ucard.chase.com.

For the food assistance program, benefits from the old Ohio Direction Card will transfer to the new card. Once the new Ohio Direction Card is activated, the old card will no longer work. Ohio residents can activate their new Ohio Direction Card by calling the Ohio Direction Card Customer Service phone number at 1-866-386-3071 or by logging onto www.ucard.chase.com.