Around $300 in benefits will be sent to Ohio families with kids who missed free, reduced meals due to school closures

Benefits will be backdated to when school closure started

Around $300 in benefits will be sent to Ohio families with kids who missed free

By Chris Anderson | May 12, 2020 at 2:33 PM EDT - Updated May 12 at 10:28 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The United States Department of Agriculture approved Ohio’s Pandemic EBT plan, which was proposed as a result of the statewide school closures.

Our @OhioJFS S just received notice that our Pandemic EBT plan was approved by the @USDA. The Pandemic EBT program was included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 12, 2020

The approval allows the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to distribute SNAP benefits to approximately 850,000 students.

“We know families are struggling right now, balancing work or career searches, distance learning, and caring for families,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. “Hopefully, this additional assistance will provide more choices for families.”

Ohio will be able to operate Pandemic EBT, a supplemental food purchasing benefit to current SNAP participants and as a new EBT benefit to other eligible households to offset the cost of meals that would have otherwise been consumed at school.

USDA

Families with children who relied on free or reduced school meals will receive around $300 in SNAP benefits to purchase healthy foods, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

These benefits amount to more than $250 million that will go to our grocery stores and other eligible retailers.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 12, 2020

The Governor said there it is not necessary for families to apply. Funds for families that already receive SNAP benefits will see the assistance added directly to the Ohio Direction cards, while households that do not rely on the supplemental program will receive a preloaded card., according to the Department of Job and Family Services.

The first payment will be back dated to when children were dismissed from school, so families should expect more than $300 the first time around and they will cover families through the month of June.