Successes of Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program provide model for summer nutrition, if made permanent

To compensate for missed school meals amid remote learning, the federally funded, state-administered Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program has provided food stamp-like benefits to families and children who would otherwise rely on free and reduced-price school meals. Although designed as a pandemic response, the program has also addressed a critical gap in providing food assistance to approximately 30 million low-income children during the summer months. Early data from the P-EBT program revealed “the rate of children not getting enough to eat declined by 11 percentage points—which is more than a 30 percent reduction in the usual rate in this population.” #foodsecurity #covid-19