Missouri won’t take part in final year of federal food program
42 percent of enrolled students in the state would have been eligible
Missouri won’t be taking part in a federal food program because the state education department has chosen not to apply for this summer.
That means over 350,000 Missouri children will not be able to benefit from it – about 42% of all enrolled students in the Show-Me State.
The program, the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program, was started in 2020 with many of the same eligibility criteria as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Families with kids who qualified for free or reduced-price meals could get up to $120 in assistance.
This would have been the final year of the program.
While Missouri had participated in the program in the past, this year the education department cited a “number of challenges” with the program as the reason for not reapplying this year.
Several other states won’t be taking part in the final year of the program. Those include Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Texas.