The money will help those families cover the cost of breakfasts and lunches the children would have received for free - or at reduced prices - through the National School Lunch Program had COVID not necessitated the shift from in-person to remote instruction during the 2020-2021 school year.
Since the benefits are funded by the federal government, on March 2, Pennsylvania’s departments of human services and education submitted the Wolf administration’s so-called Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer plan for approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
Under the plan, the 928,000 or so Pennsylvania students who missed free or reduced school meals while learning remotely would be given $6.82 for every day they spent at home instead of at school.