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You are here: Home / FEATURED POSTS / Rep. Helton Announces Financial Assistance for Meals Available for Tennessee Students

Rep. Helton Announces Financial Assistance for Meals Available for Tennessee Students

July 31, 2020 By Dick Cook and Contributed Article 0 Comments

NASHVILLE _  ​State Rep. Esther Helton, R-East Ridge, on Friday announced financial assistance is available to help families provide food for their children through the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer or P-EBT aims to provide financial assistance for school meals missed during the months of March, April, and May due to COVID-19 school closures. The P-EBT money can be used at grocery stores and other retailers that accept EBT cards to buy food for children.

The P-EBT was created through the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act as a way to reimburse families whose children are on a free or reduced lunch program, but could not receive those meals when school closed in the spring. 

House Republicans have pushed to ensure Tennesseans’ needs are met during times of crisis.

“No child should ever have to skip meals or go days experiencing hunger,” said Helton. “This program will help our most vulnerable students and their families put food on the table and ensure they’ll have the resources they need to be healthy and ready to learn.”

Families must meet the following criteria to qualify: receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program or attends a Community Eligibility Provision school that provides free meals to all students. Families already receiving SNAP or TANF benefits do not need to apply as the funds have already been distributed. Families can apply at tn.gov/humanservices or call 1-866-311-4287 by Aug. 14, at 4:30 p.m. Central Time.

 

Filed Under: FEATURED POSTS, News

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.

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