Food News

Most of the schools remained closed during the 2019-2020 year because of the pandemic but this made it difficult for the students who used to rely on schools to fulfill their nutrition needs. Food and Nutrition service has allowed us to serve meals outside of the standard meal times via the child nutrition programs. The child nutrition programs introduced to assist people in times of Covid-19 are National School Lunch and Breakfast Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Doing so will ensure that the children are fed properly while abiding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation for social distancing. These waivers are applied instantly and remain in effect until the expiration of the emergency.

Before applying, make sure to check all the Covid-19 related waivers that apply to your state. In addition to this, several other programs can satisfy your nutritional needs. Some of the programs have also received additional funds to help people in need.

The Special Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods and nutrition education for pregnant women, breastfeeding women, non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and infants and children aged 5 and below who are at high nutritional risk.

The services provided by WIC include breastfeeding education and support, supplemental nutritious foods like cereals, milk, cheese, eggs, juice, beans, and peanut butter, providing nutrition education and counseling, screening referrals to health, welfare, and other social services, and vouchers to buy WIC approved fruits and vegetables.

Another food and nutrition program is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is the largest federal nutrition assistance program to help low-income people so that they can buy nutritious food and battle food insecurities. The SNAP benefits are provided to eligible families and individuals via an electronic benefits transfer card (EBT). Using this card, people can easily buy food from authorized retail stores.

As stated above, eligibility for the SNAP program is determined by your income and expenses. Consider yourself eligible for the SNAP benefits if you are unemployed, working at low wages, non-citizen that meets the qualifications, elderly, disabled, and homeless.

No doubt that Covid-19 pandemic has posed challenges to people across the United States but grocery shopping is also a must. Fortunately, you can easily protect yourself and others around you while shopping for groceries by following some tips.

Make sure to wear a mask or other face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid-19.