USDA approves program to feed kids in Michigan, Rhode Island

On April 9, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the first state, Michigan, has been approved to operate Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), a new program authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA), signed by President Trump. On April 13, the USDA approved Rhode Island as the second state to operate the Pandemic EBT program.

Under FFCRA, states have the option to submit a plan to Perdue for providing these benefits to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and non-SNAP households with children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to pandemic-related school closures. State agencies may operate Pandemic EBT when a school is closed for at least five consecutive days during a public health emergency designation during which the school would otherwise be in session.

For the 2019–2020 school year, Michigan had nearly 750,000 children eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. That same school year, Rhode Island had approximately 72,000 children eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, or nearly 69% of children in the state.