USDA Expands Benefits

USDA Expands Benefits

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett

Families hit by the coronavirus are about to receive more funds under the Pandemic EBT Program (P-EBT).

The Colorado Department of Human Services has helpful information online about who is eligible and how to participate.

CDHS Video: “Families who participate in the Supplemental Assistance Program or SNAP and whose children attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program will automatically receive EBT Funds on their existing cards. Eligible families who currently do not participate in SNAP will receive instruction on how to receive those benefits.”

To date, the program has capped P-EBT benefit amounts at $5.86 per child per school day. Many households have had trouble claiming benefits according to the USDA news service. The agency will increase the current daily benefit amount by approximately 15%.

In addition to additional funding to EBT and school meal programs Separately, the agency says it is looking at ways to increase Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to all participants, especially lowest-income households and those struggling to afford a healthy diet for their families. In 2020, more than 255-thousand Colorado families received SNAP benefits.

As part of the new administration’s American Rescue Plan proposal, Congress is being asked to do a number of things related to food insecurity. Those include: extending the 15% SNAP benefit increase, investing in another $3 billion through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to help vulnerable mothers and kids get the food they need, and come up with new ways to support restaurants as a critical link in the food supply chain.

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