Indiana is expanding the availability of food assistance starting in May. Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Dr. Jennifer Sullivan Monday announced the launch of two new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program initiatives.
“The USDA Food and Nutrition Service recently granted Indiana the authority to issue Pandemic EBT benefits to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and non-SNAP households with one or more children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price meals at school, due to COVID-19 school closures,” Sullivan explained.
Qualifying households who are not already getting SNAP will automatically get a new Pandemic EBT card in the mail, while current SNAP recipients will have the benefits added to their existing cards. The state will also start allowing SNAP benefits to be used for food delivery services, something that Sullivan says will remain in place after the public health emergency ends.
During state officials’ COVID-19 briefing Monday, Sullivan said that SNAP applications are up by 253 percent since the middle of March, while applications for temporary cash assistance are 209 percent higher.
