The stopgap USDA program that helps low-income parents buy food for their children who miss school meals because of closures will be renewed for a full year, rather than expiring on Sept. 30, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday. Extension of the so-called Pandemic EBT program was part of nearly $8 billion in nutrition assistance added to a government funding bill during negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Pelosi said in a statement.
Adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, P-EBT provided from $250 to $450 per child to replace meals missed during the spring, according to the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities, which supported extension. Up to 30 million low-income children were aided.
“To help the millions of families struggling to keep food on the table during the pandemic, Democrats have renewed the vital, expiring lifeline of Pandemic EBT for a full year and enabled our fellow Americans in the territories to receive this critical nutrition assistance,” said Pelosi. “Democrats secured urgently needed assistance for schoolchildren to receive meals despite the coronavirus’s disruption of their usual schedules, whether virtual or in-person, and expanded Pandemic EBT access for young children in child care. We also extended key flexibility for states to lower administrative requirements on SNAP for families in the middle of this crisis.”
Analyst Lauren Bauer of the Brookings Institution welcomed the expansion of P-EBT. “This is absolutely fantastic news and is going to make a difference in the lives of millions of children,” she said on social media.