If the pandemic has done one thing, it’s shown us what’s important. Not only have we realized how essential our health and sticking close to family is, but we’ve also placed a priority on nutrition. Why? Because many of us have seen our nutrition suffer since the coronavirus came around and made it harder to afford food.
Whether your food is about to run out or you want to set up nutritional stability for the future, these resources can help in these times of need:
Long-Term Food Assistance Solutions
We’ll get into short-term food assistance solutions in a minute. But first, let’s talk about your future.
You may have had issues with feeding your family before COVID-19 appeared. If this is the case, your best bet is to apply for a food assistance program to help you each month, even once the coronavirus is gone. Here are some of the most popular programs around that fit a wide variety of needs:
For Low-Income Families: SNAP
Food stamps (SNAP) have been around for a while. And if you’ve never needed them in the past, that may have changed with the pandemic as you fight to put food on the table.
How can food stamps provide nutritional stability? By giving you funds on an EBT card each month that you can take to the store to buy healthy foods. As you can imagine, this can take a massive load off of your back by ensuring your family stays fed, which is why you should apply for food stamps now to start receiving those benefits soon.
As a side note, the government recently made food stamps easier to qualify for while also increasing the benefits to help families during the pandemic. In short, don’t delay in submitting your application.
For Pregnant Women and Young Children: WIC
If you have very young children, the last thing you want is to stress over whether or not you can feed them during a pandemic. With WIC, those worries go out the window, as it can give you funds to buy necessities like baby formula, infant food, milk, vegetables, fruit, and more.
For Kids: School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program
How much easier would you sleep each night knowing you don’t have to worry about your kids’ breakfast or lunch every day? With the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program, your kids can get those important meals without breaking your budget.
For Seniors: Commodity Supplemental Food Program and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
Seniors looking to stay afloat during the coronavirus outbreak can get help with a monthly food package from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. They can also get healthy immunity-boosting fruits and veggies through the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.
Short-Term Food Assistance Solutions
Do you need food right now? Until your applications for the food assistance programs above go through, call 211 for emergency food assistance. You can also contact your state agency to see what food assistance programs can offer immediate help.
Section 8 Assist
