INDIANAPOLIS -- Many Indiana families will have an easier time feeding their children this summer.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an extension of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program.

The program was first launched in March 2020 to reach children who qualify for free and reduced-price meals at school but weren't able to attend in person.

Kate Howe, executive director of the Indy Hunger Network, said the extension is a game changer during months when it's hard to reach kids.

She noted summer meals typically are provided through schools, community centers and other organizations.

"But there are some serious limitations to that program in the way that the money can be spent," Howe explained. "And so P-EBT will allow families to buy food for their kids to eat at home rather than having to go to a meal site to get a meal in the summertime when school's out."

Families will receive close to $7 per child per weekday, or about $375 per month. Nearly 650,000 Indiana children are expected to qualify, and benefits to the state will total more than $240 million, according to the USDA. Those numbers include benefits for children from birth to age six who are not in school.

Howe pointed out people may not realize the free and reduced-price school meal program is one of the biggest food programs in the country.

"The pandemic has really highlighted how many kids get fed at school and how important those free and reduced-price lunch and school breakfast are for feeding kids," Howe remarked.

The P-EBT program is partially based on the summer EBT program for children, which the USDA has piloted around the country since 2011. Howe hopes the agency extends the program once the pandemic ends.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Groups fighting hunger and poverty in Oregon are urging renewed action this month to ensure that everyone is fed. September is Hunger Action Month across the country.

Oregon Food Bank is holding its "State of Hunger" address virtually this Friday, which also is Hunger Action Day. Susannah Morgan, chief executive of Oregon Food Bank, said the pandemic has been hard on many families - and recovery could be slow.

"Hunger nearly doubled in Oregon and southwest Washington," she said, "and it would have been worse were it not for federal stimulus efforts - stimulus checks directly to people, or additional unemployment benefits or additional benefits through SNAP, moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures."

Morgan said many of these federal policies are expiring, causing worry that more people could experience greater food insecurity heading into the winter months. Oregon Food Bank's network of pantries and partners across the state and in southwest Washington reached more than 1.7 million people over the past year.

Hunger was an issue before the pandemic, Morgan noted, and some communities - including neighborhoods of color and immigrant communities - face disproportionate impacts from food insecurity. She encouraged people to get involved this month.

"This is Hunger Action Month, right? It's not hunger 'awareness' month," she said. "And so, what we are hoping is that every person in the community will take some action. Whatever action is in your heart."

Morgan said there are many ways for folks to take that action, whether it's donating food or money, volunteering at a local food pantry, or writing to their elected officials. Oregon Food Bank's State of Hunger address will begin at 10:45 a.m. on Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS -- More Minnesota school districts are welcoming back students this week. Because of the pandemic, schools are receiving federal aid to boost their meal services, and a new Minnesota law blocks them from acting forcibly over unpaid lunch debt.

The bipartisan provision, included in a new spending bill, seeks to end "lunch-shaming" and calls for state intervention if a violation occurs.

Leah Gardner, policy director for Hunger Solutions Minnesota, said they had been working on this issue for nearly a decade. Leading up to the pandemic, she pointed out, it was still a problem even with past incidents garnering negative attention.

"We have continued to see some practices, such as dumping kids' lunches in front of all the other students," Gardner reported.

For now, the federal government is reimbursing districts for free meals to all students, and groups like Hunger Solutions continue to press for universal lunches when things return to normal.

Gardner noted one plan calls on the state to better utilize the federal funds available for high-poverty districts to offer meals to everyone. GOP lawmakers have cited cost concerns when debating an expansion of school meal programs.

There are also calls for Congress to improve the funding formula, potentially allowing more schools to qualify for what's known as the Community Eligibility Provision, when a majority of their students are lower-income.

Colleen Moriarty, executive director for Hunger Solutions Minnesota, said the eventual goal is lunches for all students, no matter their background. She contended the past year has changed the conversation about food insecurity, and students' needs.

"If you're concerned about behavior or absenteeism, or the ability to focus, there is no greater way to reinforce the importance of being able and ready to learn than by making sure that people have the nutrition they need," Moriarty asserted.

Some states, like California and Maine, have adopted their own universal lunch programs. Responding to cost concerns cited by opponents, supporters argue in addition to reducing stigma, such a move could reduce administrative costs.

SALT LAKE CITY - Many Utah students, particularly those in rural areas, often are left without access to their school's meal program during breaks in the school year. But a measure pending in Congress would extend federal food programs designed to fill in those nutrition gaps for families.

Approval of the program, called the Stop Child Hunger Act of 2021, would make pandemic-era pilot programs permanent to provide funds to replace meals during summer school breaks and unanticipated school closures.

Gina Cornia - executive director of Utahns Against Hunger - said unless lawmakers act, funding for these programs will expire at the end of the current school year.

"It's expensive to run those programs," said Cornia. "A lot of times, they're connected to summer school program. So if a district doesn't have a summer school program, they don't have a summer food program because summer school isn't all summer."

The programs provide families with kids eligible for free or reduced-cost school meals with an electronic benefits transfer - or EBT - card to cover meals missed when school is not in session.

Cornia said almost a third of all students in Utah public schools participate in one or more federally-funded meal programs.

"The last data that we have, which has been disrupted by the pandemic, about 29% of Utah kids get their meals for free or at a reduced price" said Cornia. "And that translates into more than 180,000 kids."

Cornia said the EBT program will help students with working parents or who live in rural areas without transportation to the school to have nutritious meals during breaks.

"This would really go a long way in not only addressing those gaps" said Cornia, "but giving families the freedom and the flexibility to buy the food that they want."

The bill has bipartisan support and is awaiting committee hearings in both the House and Senate.

Utahns Against Hunger does not provide direct food services but is a nonprofit agency that advises on public policy issues and advocates for federal nutrition programs.