Congress Must Act to Provide Millions of Children with Pandemic Food Assistance
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First Act) created a set of expansions to federal food assistance programs designed to provide relief to families across the nation struggling with the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
One of the reforms was the creation of a pandemic electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) program to provide low-income families with children additional funds to offset extra food expenses while schools are closed because of the pandemic.
Since the law was passed on March 18, only four states have received approval for P-EBT programs. The school year is only a few weeks away and urgent action is needed to make P-EBT effective for the millions of children it was meant to serve.
