Pandemic EBT available for low income students in distance learning

The daily funds come out to $6.82 per day and are available only during days students are learning from home.

NORTH DAKOTA (KVRR) — A food assistance program is ensuring K-12 students across North Dakota are staying fed while learning from home.

“The program is brand new; it was never in effect until this last year after the COVID emergency was announced,” North Dakota Department of Public Instruction’s Director of Child Nutrition Linda Schloer said.

Director of Child Nutrition at the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, Linda Schloer says the Pandemic-EBT food assistance program was created to help assist students of low income families.

“It is specifically to provide meal benefits or EBT benefits for children who are not in school and could not have access to the school meals when they were eligible for free and reduced priced meals,” said Schloer.

The daily assistance comes out to $6.82 per day and is available only during days students are learning from home.

“They’re federal funds. So, they’re coming from the U.S department of agriculture and it’s for any purchases that normal SNAP customers can use their EBT cards. So, grocery store food purchases, and convenience stores for food purchases as well,” Schloer said.

Schloer says, so far the program has helped numerous families across the state.

“Every single time I talk to parents, they are very grateful for the funding that’s available. It is certainly something that is needed out there. When you think about food it’s one of those necessities of life that you just can’t go without. Those benefits really can help bring up the funds that can make a household sustain itself without having people go hungry,” Schloer said

With the amount of students in distance learning decreasing, the Pandemic-EBT program will most likely change operations, says Schloer.

“Next school year will look a lot different and it really depends on that federal COVID emergency,” said Schloer.

For now, the food assistance program will run through the summer term.

For more information of the Pandemic EBT program email the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction at: snap-pebt@nd.gov or call 701-328-2732.