MADISON, Wis. — Many kids in Wisconsin rely on schools for meals.

Early in the pandemic schools and state programs scrambled to ensure the food was still there for kids in need.

“School closures are particularly challenging for families, economic security and children's wellbeing,” said Stephanie Jung Dorfman, director for Feeding Wisconsin. “Free and reduced price meals are a core safety net program for children. For some children school meals may be the only ones they eat in a day.” 

Dorfman spoke at a town hall on a program called Pandemic EBT, a state program that gives financial assistance for groceries to families with kids on free and reduced lunch. 

“The Pandemic EBT program is so crucial in providing that stability and ensuring our kids don't go hungry and that they have all the energy to play and to learn,” said Governor Tony Evers (D-Wisconsin) at the town hall.

The Pandemic EBT program was put together for the spring of last school year. In February of this year the federal government approved it again for Wisconsin for the 2020-21 school year.

“That's going to be crucial to making sure our youngest kids are cared for,” Evers said.

Having the program was crucial for several families, like La Tesha Johnson's.

“It's not easy to maintain when you don't have the right resources, or the resources that you do have run out, where do you go? Where do you turn to?” Johnson said.

Johnson has four school aged kids and helps care for another grandchild. Pandemic EBT helped her keep food on the table.

“It's a big thing for the households because now you'll be able to stretch the food better versus okay what are we going to do next?” Johnson said.

Johnson said she's never utilized food banks as much as this year.

She's not alone. Feeding America reported about a 40% increase in food bank demand.

More than 700,000 Wisconsinites faced hunger issues in 2020 — including one in five children.

“PEBT will provide stability to hundreds of thousands of wisconsinites facing tough times,” Dorfman said. “Potentially it will eliminate situations of hunger and lift families out of poverty, it will ensure that Wisconsin children have the food they need to learn, play and live healthy lives.”

Families enrolled in the national school lunch program and have kids at a school with altered operations from the pandemic are eligible. Families that sign up for the school lunch program now can still be eligible for Pandemic EBT retroactively for this school year.

Payments for the first four months of this school year are expected to get to families in late March or early April.