Kids that have been affected by school meals due to COVID now have access to more help.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will be stepping up to help around 810,000 kids throughout Michigan whose access to school meals has been disrupted due to COVID-19. Those kids will now be receiving food assistance benefits automatically.

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The Pandemic-EBT benefits received federal approval for the second time in Michigan. This means that children in Michigan are expected to receive up to $741.6 million in assistance benefits which can be used to help pays for food at stores and online.

Michigan has been a national leader in making sure families can put food on the table during COVID and this pandemic-EBT will continue to ensure that no child in our state goes hungry during the pandemic...Students are steadily returning to in-person learning because of the progress we’ve made combatting COVID-19, but kids who don’t go to school five days a week have a harder time accessing the free and reduced-price meals available to them at school. Pandemic-EBT closes this gap, giving our children another option for accessing nutritious food...said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. 

So what students are eligible for the assistance? Any student in pre-K through 12th grade that qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches at school and in-person learning is not available or on a full-time basis at their school. Each child that is fully virtual will receive around $127.53 per month. Kids that are on a hybrid schedule will receive around $77.06 monthly. These benefits are also retroactive back to September and all of the payments from then will be paid this month.

Source: Mid-Michigan Now

SEE MORE: Michigan Teacher Making Virtual School An Adventure

 

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