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President Biden Is Launching A Summer Food Program To Feed More Than 30 Million Low Income Families

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There are so many kids across the country that rely on school meals to get food during the school year.

What are those same kids supposed to do once the school year ends?

Well, the Biden administration just may have come up with a solution so the kiddos can eat this summer.

He is starting the most ambitious program in U.S. History, allowing 30 million low-income families to take advantage of food during the summer months.

Biden has ALREADY had a hand in extending free school lunches through 2022.

(The free lunch program was set to end in 2021)

BUT, the administration is also seeing to it that kids don’t go hungry this summer, when the schools are not in session.

The plan will provide up to 34 million children about $375 each to buy food for the roughly 10 weeks they are out of school in the summer. That’s when impoverished children have long struggled with hunger, as free or reduced-price lunch school programs that guarantee meals don’t operate then. That’s around $7 a weekday.

NBC News

Kids under 6 years old, and already receive help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, will automatically be enrolled in the program.

Those students who qualify for, and take advantage of free or reduced lunches will also automatically get the benefits.

We know that summer hunger is a problem in normal years, but obviously this year, with heightened food hardship as a result of the pandemic, we’re happy to deploy the program this summer.

Stacy Dean, deputy under secretary of agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services

The funds will go out in the form of P-EBT cards, which have been delayed in some states.

The plan is for the parents to receive these cards sometime in the next few weeks.

The card has the same limits as SNAP benefits. They can be used to buy fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, breads, cereals and some other foods. They can’t be used to buy items like alcohol, tobacco, medications, hot foods or any nonfood items.

NBC News

This will come as a relief to skeptics of the program, because the funds will HAVE to be used on food for the kids or families.

The P-EBT program was started early on in the pandemic as a way to help low-income families, and keep food in their bellies.

This is just a needed extension of that program.

The program costs $12 billion, the Agriculture Department estimated — a stark turnaround from the Trump administration, which aimed to limit eligibility and spending on food programs.

NBC News

While this may seem like a staggering amount of money, it is money that is important to so many families — AND, it is money that is going to go right back into the economy. Win, Win.

I absolutely love that this administration is being proactive in the fight against food insecurities for so many that are in need.

What are your thoughts on the summer food program? Let us know below.

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