From staff reports
The state submitted for federal approval the Wolf Administration’s plan to issue more than $1 billion in federally funded benefits to families of Pennsylvania children who have attended school remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and who otherwise would have had access to free-and-reduced-price meals during the 2020-21 school year.
The program, known as Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), would help families cover the cost of breakfasts and lunches children would have been eligible to receive for free or at reduced price through the National School Lunch Program.
“This pandemic has stretched millions of household budgets near or past the breaking point, illuminating the growing need for a robust social safety net,” state Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said in a news release.
If the plan is approved, Pennsylvania will distribute the equivalent of about $84 million per month to the families of about 928,000 children – for a total distribution of about $1 billion, according to the release.
The plan, the release said, reflects the cost of meals for 180 school days during the period of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. The benefits are funded by the federal government.
For more information about food assistance resources for people around Pennsylvania impacted by COVID-19 and the accompanying economic insecurity, visit the Department of Agriculture’s food security guide.