Massachusetts yesterday became the first state to receive federal approval to issue benefits through the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program to replace the free or reduced-price meals that children are missing at school during this school year, but every other state has the authority and experience to begin issuing P-EBT benefits as well.
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POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
School Districts, Governors Can Use Free Meals to Mitigate Hardship
August 19, 2020
School districts can offer school meals in low-income communities at no charge to families under the federal community eligibility provision, but they must opt in by August 31. Adopting this simple four-year option would help mitigate not just...
Remaining 8 States Should Help Families Losing School Meals
June 10, 2020
A staggering 1 in 3 families with children say they don’t have enough food, and that’s in part because schools where lots of children normally eat free or reduced-price meals are closed. A new federal program (...
States Can Help Low-Income Children Get Enough to Eat During the Pandemic
April 10, 2020
States can use a new temporary program — Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) — to help get food to the nearly 30 million children in low-income families who can’t access their free or reduced-price school meals due to widespread school...
Governors’ Coronavirus Plans Must Protect Nutrition for Pregnant Women, Young Children
March 18, 2020
Governors can use the flexibility that the pending Families First Coronavirus Response Act would give them to ensure that WIC benefits remain accessible even if COVID-19...
Policymakers Can Boost Very Young Children’s Nutrition, Health
February 27, 2020
A new bill from Senator Sherrod Brown would support states’ efforts to enroll more low-income families in WIC.
States Can Boost WIC, Improve Outcomes for Low-Income Women, Young Children
December 9, 2019
State policymakers can do more to ensure that low-income women and young children participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Just over half of those eligible currently participate, despite WIC’s well-documented role in improving birth, diet, health, and developmental outcomes. By...
Yet Another Reason to Make Sure Young Children Have Enough to Eat
February 28, 2017
Toddlers living in food-insecure families are likelier to perform poorly when they enter school, a recent study found. It’s more evidence that SNAP and WIC, by reducing food insecurity, can pay off both now...
