CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia families with eligible children under the age of 6 will be receiving funding from the federal government for groceries.
Children are eligible if they live in a household that receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, state Department of Health and Human Resources officials said in a news release. They must also live in a county where one or more schools have been closed or operated at reduced attendance due to COVID-19.
Families will receive $22.44 per child for each month of the 2021-22 school year. Families will receive payments for half of the school year in July, with the other half coming in September.
Officials estimate around 40,000 West Virginia children will be eligible.
The benefits will be loaded onto existing pandemic electronic benefits transfer cards that were issued during the 2020-21 school year. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.