Kansas families with children to split $71 million in COVID pandemic food assistance
Families of 255,000 Kansas children will share an estimated $71.6 million in government aid, to make up for periods of the COVID-19 pandemic when free and reduced-price meals were not available from schools and child care facilities.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a Kansas plan to distribute the funds from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, using the debit cards system known as P-EBT, Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer.
In a separate announcement, the USDA has said it will provide an additional $375 per child for food assistance through the summer months.
“Many Kansas families will see a nice benefit allowing them to fill the refrigerator with food for their children,” said Jami Reever, executive director of the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. The nonprofit group monitors and advocates for justice system reform, child welfare, and community food access.
The program will provide a benefit of $6.82 — the cost of breakfast, lunch and a snack — for each day that meal-eligible children couldn’t attend school or day cares that were closed during the pandemic, Reever said.
Benefits should come in about six weeks.
“While the state works to bring the plan online, Kansas families who haven’t done so should apply for the free and reduced lunch program to ensure their eligibility,” a statement from Appleseed said. “Families who already participate should also verify their application information is up-to-date.”
The actual amount of the benefit will be calculated for each school district, based on the number of days students were in remote learning during the pandemic, the state plan says.
The benefits will be partially retroactive and cover the period from October of last year through May of this year. Benefits go back to October because that’s when the USDA’s original pandemic benefit plan expired.
Families with pre-school-age children eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, will also be eligible for benefits.
“USDA is committed to providing nutrition assistance to hard-hit families across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic,” the agency said in a statement. “In support of President Biden’s call to action on hunger, USDA . . . is increasing the P-EBT benefit by approximately 15 percent, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school and child care closures.”
Kansas officials estimate that the benefits will provide $48.1 million to the families of approximately 225,000 children in school, and $23.5 million to approximately 30,000 SNAP-enrolled children in child care.
The state will compare school and child-care records to prevent double-dipping for children who are eligible for both school and child-care benefits, the plan said.
Data on how many children will benefit in the Wichita School District was not immediately available.
The district has about 49,300 students; 60% chose in-person instruction when available and 40% opted for remote learning for this school year, said district spokeswoman Wendy Johnson.
About 77 percent qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.
The number of days the schools were closed from October to the present was not immediately available.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 5:01 AM.
