Texas families without access to school meals to get 2nd round of food assistance

Texas families with kids who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to COVID-19 will get a second round of federal assistance.

On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the Texas Health and Human Services Commission received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide more than $2.5 billion in Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) to about 3.7 million eligible children in the state. Each child will receive up to $1,200 for the school year, depending on the school and the days they were learning virtually.

The money can be used the same way SNAP food benefits are used to pay for groceries. Most families that receive SNAP benefits do not need to apply.

Families who have children certified for free or reduced-price meals, or attended a school defined as a Community Eligibility Provision or Provision II school and received meals at no cost, during the 2020-2021 school year but did not receive SNAP benefits will need to apply.

According to a release from Gov. Abbott, last summer, the first round of P-EBT provided more than $1 billion in food benefits to more than three million kids.

For more details, visit the Health and Human Services' website.