New research is making the case for an online system to better serve young families who depend on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Ohio is among just 10 states requiring WIC recipients to mail or present their EBT card at a WIC office every four months to reload benefits.

Hope Lane-Gavin, health equity fellow at the Center for Community Solutions, said Ohio had a tremendous health and human service response to the pandemic, but during the same period, states with offline systems saw a significant decrease in WIC enrollment.

"If you're on WIC, you're either pregnant, postpartum, and you have a toddler or a newborn," Lane-Gavin explained. "And so, you have to load everybody into a car or take the bus just to get the benefit itself, and then you have to go shopping. So that is a whole ordeal and that is reflected in our enrollment numbers."

Data showed WIC participation was 9% lower in offline states relative to online states. Ohio was one of the first states to use EBT cards. And while the decision occurred years ago, Lane-Gavin contended the pandemic exposed it actually runs counter to the program's intentions and goals.

Lane-Gavin pointed out an online EBT program could improve infant mortality rates and maternal health. She used Medicaid as an example, where beneficiaries are inherently eligible for WIC.

"There's about 115,000 births in the state every year, and roughly 50% of those births are on Medicaid," Lane-Gavin noted. "So, hypothetically, if all of those people got on the WIC program and the benefits were remote, it would make a huge difference in infant and maternal health in the state and the takeup of the program. "

The American Rescue Plan Act included WIC modernization funding, so Lane-Gavin emphasized researchers encouraged state officials to use those dollars to bring the system online.

"Families are hurting," Lane-Gavin observed. "And as we face this inevitable COVID-19 cliff where a lot of these programs that were created because of the pandemic are starting to wind down, we know that families still need help."

The Center for Community Solutions has an online series examining ways to improve the WIC program.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

Some North Dakota leaders believe healthy food is part of what is needed to help all kids achieve better outcomes and they hope low-income families sign up for new summer food assistance to keep their children on track.

State officials say eligible households have until Aug. 30 to apply for help buying groceries for kids while they are on break. North Dakota is one of many states to accept federal funding through the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program. Families receive a card with $120 on it for each eligible child, to spend on food.

Jared Slinde, communications manager for the Great Plains Food Bank, said there has always been concern about the "summer slide," and some kids also saw their learning suffer during the pandemic.

"Kids fell off track during COVID," Slinde observed. "Maybe they didn't have the best resources, which was certainly understandable. (The) Summer EBT program can help alleviate certain struggles that kids might have."

He explained staying nourished over the summer can help put them in a better position to learn once school starts and hopefully see their test scores rebound. Kids already receiving free or reduced-priced meals during the school year were automatically enrolled in Summer EBT but officials said more children may still qualify, and their parents are encouraged to sign up.

Slinde noted there are other programs, including ones offered by Great Plains Food Bank, helping families get food over the summer. He acknowledged things like transportation barriers might prevent some from getting to the sites distributing meals. The Summer EBT option could allow them to buy groceries from a neighborhood store.

"Our mission here is to end hunger together," Slinde stressed. "Any time we can have a number of different moving parts providing food assistance, we're going to be all for this."

He added they continue to see heightened demand overall for food assistance across North Dakota. So far, 32,000 North Dakota kids have been enrolled in the summer program.


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Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is facing a surge in demand for food assistance, despite the end of the pandemic.

The facility serves about 60,000 people monthly in Lake and Porter Counties.

Victor Garcia, the operation's CEO, said food banks operate differently from food pantries and soup kitchens. Food banks source food through donations, government programs and bulk purchases to supply local agencies.

"If you think of that food pantry at your local house of worship as a grocery store, and you think of a soup kitchen as a restaurant, our core business as food banks is to be the supplier to those agency partners," Garcia explained.

Garcia pointed out before the pandemic, the food bank conducted two mobile distributions weekly, serving about 4,000 people a month. During the pandemic, this spiked to six distributions weekly, serving 14,000 people.

According to the nonprofit group Feeding Indiana's Hungry, one in seven Hoosiers is food insecure. The group also reported the hunger rate for children in Indiana is even higher at one in five or worse in 38 of Indiana's 92 counties.

Garcia noted to meet demand, his facility currently maintains five distributions each week and serves about 12,000 people each month.

"The increased cost of product is creating significant impacts," Garcia stressed. "While we're looking for donated food as much as possible, we are buying more food than we ever have as a network to meet the increase in demand."

The food bank relies heavily on community donations and volunteer efforts. Garcia emphasized every dollar donated provides three meals, and volunteers are essential, with 7,200 individuals having volunteered last year alone.


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With school cafeterias closed for the summer, community groups and nonprofits are working to ensure that Colorado's one in five children who go without food because their family can't afford groceries can still get nutritious meals.

Kristen Collins, executive director of Colorado Food Cluster, said because rural families have longer distances to travel for in-person summer meal sites, her group is now delivering boxes of food directly to homes.

"The box includes seven days worth of breakfast, and seven days worth of lunch," she explained. "All of those meals are shelf-stable, so you'll get tuna packets, chicken salad packets, Goldfish, juices."

Collins said she expects to serve meals to 1,800 low income kids across 20 rural counties this year. Last year, Congress exempted rural areas from rules that require summer meals to be eaten at a specific site, and there are now "to go" options available outside metro areas as well.

To find a summer meal, visit KidsFoodFinder.org, or text the word "Food" or "Comida" to 304-304.

Participating community recreation centers, libraries, churches and other sites across the state are also serving free breakfast, lunch, snacks and supper to Colorado youths all summer long.

Justice Onwordi, impact director with Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, said anyone 18 and younger can share a meal with friends.

"You don't have to be enrolled in any school, you don't have to be enrolled in any type of federal or state programs. It's for anyone and everyone, and you don't even need a proof of ID or anything like that. You can just show up to a site," said Onwordi.

All locations are required to meet federal nutrition guidelines. Many offer fun activities for kids and teens designed to exercise both minds and bodies, to help make sure kids are healthy and ready to learn when they head back to school in the fall.