Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor’s Office of Food Justice this week introduced that 155 Boston Summer Eats Program free meal websites for folks 18 or youthful have opened, and farmers market coupons can be found to folks in want.
Summer Eats launched in 2017 with the aim of increasing entry to free and wholesome meals for Boston children through the summer season, after they wouldn’t be capable of obtain the free meals they get through the faculty 12 months.
“Boston’s Summer Eats program and our Farmers Market coupon program supports a food systems approach to provide residents with nutritious foods that also support our local economy and the health of our planet,” Wu mentioned in an announcement.
Residents who need to entry free meals for children can discover websites at www.boston.gov/summer-eats or discover different areas throughout the state by texting “Food” or “Comida” to 304-304. Hours of operation differ relying on the positioning, and most meal websites are presently providing breakfast, lunch and snacks. No registration or identification is required. This 12 months, there will probably be no grab-and-go choices out there. Youngsters are strongly inspired to eat on website.
“Summer should be a joyous time where children and youth should not have to worry about food,” mentioned James Morton, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Boston. “Boston Summer Eats removes barriers for children and youth and makes it easy for them to access food across the city. Through strong collaboration with partners, we are able to not only distribute meals, but culturally appropriate meals that children and youth want.”
Another useful resource that households with kids can use along with Summer Eats is the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program. P-EBT can be out there for households when colleges are closed. All college students in Boston colleges, in addition to infants and youngsters 0 to five years previous whose households get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) advantages, are eligible for P-EBT.
Kindergarten to grade 12 college students will obtain a complete of $391 in P-EBT advantages in two equal funds of $195.50. The first cost was issued on July 3, and the second cost will probably be issued on Aug. 3. If you imagine your pupil is eligible for Summer P-EBT however didn’t obtain it on July 3, please wait till July 11 to contact your youngster’s faculty.
Families who obtain SNAP and P-EBT this 12 months for kids ages 0 to six can even obtain two summer season P-EBT funds of $195.50 – one on July 25 and one other on Aug. 25. These funds will go on to residents’ P-EBT playing cards or SNAP/EBT playing cards if they’re enrolled in SNAP, a federal program that gives food-purchasing help for low- and no-income folks.
Residents ought to hold their P-EBT playing cards, even after they have used all of the funds, in case extra advantages are added sooner or later. These funds can be utilized to buy groceries wherever EBT or SNAP is accepted, together with farmers markets. Residents can obtain the Fresh EBT app to seek out close by shops and farmers markets that settle for EBT.
The Office of Food Justice encourages residents who’re SNAP, P-EBT or Women Infants and Children (WIC) vitamin program recipients to leverage packages out there at farmers markets, such because the Healthy Incentives Program and WIC. This will make the meals out there at farmers markets extra reasonably priced and supply households with more healthy choices.
The Mayor’s Office of Food Justice is working the Farmers Market Coupon Program for the third 12 months. The aim is to assist households who don’t qualify for federal and state packages, together with however not restricted to immigrants and refugees.
This 12 months, the Mayor’s Office of Food Justice has partnered with greater than 20 community-based organizations to distribute farmers market coupons to food-insecure households in Boston, together with Allston, Brighton, Charleston, Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury and South Boston. No extra coupons can be found right now.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”