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The State of New York will distribute Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to families with children who were getting free meals at school before the transition to at-home learning. Eligiblehouseholds will receive $420 per child every month, helping fill the nutritional gap left by statewide school closings. This undertaking is expected to cost $880 million, according to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
EBT cards will be mailed to families and can be used only for food following the same guidelines as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. There's no need to apply—the state is identifying eligible students and mailing cards directly to their homes. About 2.1 million children across New York will benefit.
In addition, 1.3 million children already getting SNAP benefits will automatically get the $420 assistance. Food insecurity is a growing problem, and New York wants to make sure that the state's most vulnerable children are safe and don't go hungry.
New York City schools already offer free grab-and-go meals to all New Yorkers at the more than 400 Meal Hubs set up in school buildings. But this would allow households to shop for food and plan meals on their own. EBT cards can now be used for food items from Amazon; some ShopRite and Walmart stores are also taking online orders. The benefits don't cover shipping and handling.
The program is temporary, but there's no telling how long it will be needed: NYC School buildings might not reopen in September.
For more information about the latest on NYC Schools, check out our update on the 2019-2020 academic year.
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