Children under six can get FoodShare benefits

Wisconsin has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), for its plan to implement a new federal program to provide food benefits for children under the age of six, who are part of FoodShare households and who are not yet enrolled in school.

Called Pre-6 Pandemic-EBT (Pre-6 P-EBT), the program is designed to help families whose young children may have been at home more often, since last fall, because of closures of childcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first benefits for this program were issued May 29, covering October through December 2020.

FoodShare recipients do not need to do anything to receive these benefits.

“Too many Wisconsin families were struggling to put food on the table even before the pandemic, and that need is even greater now,” said Department of Health Services secretary- designee Karen Timberlake. “Pre-6 Pandemic-EBT will help feed our youngest and most vulnerable Wisconsinites, and we are committed to making sure these benefits reach our families that need them most.”

The amount of benefits that FoodShare households will receive for Pre-6 P-EBT is being calculated on a regional basis, using the information submitted by schools for the regular P-EBT program, about how often students learned from home during this school year, informing them of how much they are receiving under this program.

If a child is under the age of six, but goes to a K-12 school where they are enrolled in free or reduced price meals, they are eligible for the school P-EBT program and will not receive Pre-6 P-EBT benefits.