Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas — Food banks and nutrition advocates praised the bipartisan passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in Congress.
The bill strengthens the nation's nutrition safety net by providing more than $1 billion in immediate, additional funds for food banks, senior-serving organizations and families participating in WIC. It also allows states to respond forcefully to the outbreak by:
- Providing an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card to purchase groceries to households with children who would normally receive free or reduced-price school meals;
- Providing temporary, emergency SNAP benefits to all SNAP households up to the maximum monthly benefit amount; and
- Suspending time limits on SNAP eligibility for unemployed and underemployed individuals.