Low-income families to get food assistance
Families struggling to make ends meet amid the coronavirus pandemic will soon get a bit of relief through a federally funded food program.
More than $1 billion was approved Monday for Texas to help families with children who have lost access to free or reduced-price school meals. That’s about $285 per eligible child.
“This program will expand access to healthy and nutritious food for families and children in need as the state continues to respond to COVID-19,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
The money, included in the first relief package passed by Congress in March, will be portioned out through the Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Department of Agriculture
and the Texas Education Agency, and can be used in the same way as credits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known previously as food stamps.
Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank, said the money will help ease demand on his organization, which has been feeding 120,000 people a week during the pandemic, more than twice as many as it normally assists.
“The game plan has always been, ‘How can I get people out of the parking lot and into the grocery store?’” he said, referring to the food bank’s drive-thru distribution events.
Families are eligible if they received food benefits in March or have signed up for the reduced-price meals at schools. For those who have state-issued debit cards for food assistance, the money will be added automatically by May 22.
Other eligible families will receive information on how to apply for the assistance from school districts by May 31. Applications will be open through June 30 and be first come, first serve.
More than 3 million children in Texas are certified to receive free or reducedprice meals at school this year. Children are eligible for the meals if their household incomes are at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.
In addition to the new funding, Texas has been approved to participate in a pilot program allowing SNAP recipients to order groceries from Amazon and Walmart online for delivery.