Image from @tnjustice
guest post by Lauryn Cravens
Passionate about nutrition, food policy, and food justice, I have had the incredible privilege this summer of splitting my time working between The Nashville Food Project and the Tennessee Justice Center’s Nutrition Team. This has afforded me the opportunity to work with this concept of “food” with my hands in the Food Project’s Growing Together garden, and at the federal policy level with the Justice Center, all as the coronavirus pandemic has put a greater strain on our food system than ever before.
No one on the Tennessee Justice Center’s Nutrition Team expected our summer to be consumed by Pandemic EBT, but it has. What is Pandemic EBT? Pandemic EBT provides financial benefits for families of children in grades K-12 who receive free or reduced-price school meals or attend a Community Eligibility Provision school (a school where meals are free for all students) to help families that missed school meals during March, April, and May when children were not in school due to COVID-19. The only requirement is a child must be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals; P-EBT is for all students regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
The state of Tennessee boarded the P-EBT boat later than other states and was not approved for the program until mid-May. Since approval, Tennessee has failed to implement the program quickly, and several obstacles remain in place, making it hard for too many families to access food. Due to significant administrative barriers, a lack of sufficient marketing and outreach to inform the public of the expanded benefits and a short application window for families, thousands of Tennessee families are still without their desperately needed benefits.
We know how important free and reduced-price meals are for Tennessee families—over 663,000 Tennessee kids rely on free lunch and breakfast during a typical school year. As the pandemic shutters businesses and causes unprecedented layoffs, families are more vulnerable to food insecurity than ever before. While support from incredible locally-run organizations like The Nashville Food Project, this does not replace the need for food assistance legislation from state governments—especially in times of crisis.
For example, one way to help keep Tennessee students and their families afloat would be eliminating the P-EBT application altogether, allowing every family who qualifies to automatically participate. And although the state is responsible for publicizing P-EBT, everyday Tennesseans can also do their part to spread the word and advocate for this food assistance program, whether that be via word of mouth, social media, or by contacting local representatives.
Furthermore, as those who work with The Nashville Food Project and the Growing Together program know all too well, not all Tennessee families are fluent in English. Translation of the P-EBT application into Spanish, Kurdish and other languages would make the program more accessible for the many immigrants and refugees who call this state home. These actions and more can help ensure that all eligible Tennessee families receive the benefits they need and deserve during this critical time.
Stay updated with Tennessee Justice Center’s nutrition advocacy efforts, and see what you can do to help here: https://www.tnjustice.org/child-nutrition.
Image from @tnjustice