USDA program to feed kids during the pandemic expands to 20 states

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has announced that Maine, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Vermont have been approved to operate Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), a new program authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that assists families of children eligible for free or reduced-price meals dealing with school closures. This brings the total to 20 states approved to participate in the Pandemic EBT program, including Michigan, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Arizona, Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, California, Connecticut, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, New Mexico, Delaware, and Oregon.

Under FFCRA, states have the option to submit a plan to Perdue for providing these benefits to supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and non-SNAP households with children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to pandemic-related school closures. State agencies may operate Pandemic EBT when a school is closed for at least five consecutive days during a public health emergency designation during which the school would otherwise be in session.