FNS Documents & Resources

USDA is committed to providing nutrition assistance to hard-hit families across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. In support of President Biden’s call to action on hunger, USDA announced that it is increasing the Pandemic EBT benefit by approximately 15 percent, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school and child care closures.

USDA has issued guidance to states in implementing FFCRA of 2020 which provides for the issuance of emergency allotments based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of HHS under the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a state has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.

USDA is committed to providing nutrition assistance to hard-hit families across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. In support of President Biden’s call to action on hunger, USDA announced that it is increasing the Pandemic EBT benefit by approximately 15 percent, providing more money for low-income families and millions of children missing meals due to school and child care closures.

In an effort to make the distribution of P-EBT benefits to eligible children as efficient as possible, USDA has developed a simple P-EBT summer plan template. The template allows states to elect a USDA-determined standard benefit that relieves states of the burden of determining their own benefit levels based on state-specific school district calendars.

The resolution extends a number of the SNAP flexibilities approved under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and permits state SNAP agencies to adopt certain options without FNS approval. 

FNS is permitting all interested state agencies to extend certification periods and accordingly adjust periodic report submission dates for ongoing SNAP households who are due for recertification or periodic reporting through June 30, 2020.

This letter transmits the FNS denial of certain requests to adjust SNAP regulations that do not meet the requirements for approval provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 added a new Section 23 on Childhood Hunger Research to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. This section provides substantial new mandatory funding to research the causes and consequences of childhood hunger and to test innovative strategies to end child hunger and food insecurity.

The purpose of this memorandum is to advise you of Food and Nutrition Service’s decision to offer state agencies the opportunity to participate in a demonstration project to exclude earned income from temporary employment in the 2020 Census.

This memorandum outlines the approach FNS will begin to take to work with state agencies as they request approval for new demonstration projects or renewal of existing projects, to ensure all active demonstration projects are testing innovative approaches with appropriate evaluations.