Officials at the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration are making sure that the state’s remote student learners have access to food.
During Governor Eric Holcomb’s media briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said an effort was made by the state’s schools, superintendents and multiple state agencies to submit a platform to the federal government to secure funding to feed virtual learners who don’t have access to school food resources.
“Indiana was able to successfully submit data for approximately 1,600 schools equaling 261,758 students and $42 million in food funding directly to families,” explained Dr. Sullivan. “Again, that is more than 260,000 students who are learning at home because they have medical conditions, a household member who is high-risk, or a community that is not ready for in-person school due to community spread. We are making sure that they have access to food.”
She noted the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s work for two days gathered a lot of the needed information.
Dr. Sullivan stated, “We were one of only 20 states to have a plan approved by the federal government to even attempt this work and one of only a handful to successfully implement.”
Dr. Sullivan said cards will be mailed to recipients in the next couple of weeks. They will work like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit cards.
Additionally, Dr. Sullivan provided an update on the statewide “Operation Food” effort. She said 80 National Guard soldiers in Indiana will continue to support the 12 Food Banks in state as over 500 new and returning volunteers transition back to their posts at the food banks.
“Through the start of the coronavirus pandemic and through the end of August, the Indiana National Guard helped distribute 33.9 million meals to needy Hoosiers.”
