LYNN — More than 1,900 Lynn families have not taken advantage of the financial assistance they have received through the Pandemic EBT program, which was created in response to COVID-19-related school closures.
The federal program launched this past spring to support families with children who had been receiving free or reduced school lunches.
Since all students receive free meals at the Lynn Public Schools, each family is eligible for $399 per child through the program, which was paid in two separate installments in April and May.
However, despite the pandemic exacerbating food insecurity in the city, local officials said that as of July 23, 1,970 of the approximately 12,000 P-EBT cards that were issued have not been activated in Lynn.
“That’s still an issue as the pandemic is going on,” said Norris Guscott, director of the Lynn Food and Fitness Alliance and leader of the city’s Food Security Task Force. “We want Lynn residents to be very fast on activating that. That’s a tool to alleviate food insecurity.”
Based on conversations the task force had with community members, Guscott said families have not yet activated their cards for a variety of reasons. For instance, some families distrust government programs and fear that the immigration status of family members would make them vulnerable to arrest.
Others have had technical issues with their card getting declined at grocery stores after purchasing more than the balance of the card, he said, explaining that this could cause them to think the card is not working and throw it out. It can take up to three weeks for a new card to be issued in those cases.
Guscott said much of the problem revolves around poor community outreach when the program launched. That kind of public awareness campaign should have been done before the cards were issued so families knew they were coming in the mail, he said.
Despite the problems that have been seen with the program, Guscottt said he would not characterize it as a failure, noting that P-EBT is an effective tool against food insecurity and has the right intentions.
“The fact of realizing in itself that (school) food is the primary source of food for a lot of low-income children, there’s kudos to that,” said Guscott. “Effective outreach could have alleviated some of the issues we’re seeing. That’s not throwing blame on anyone.
“I don’t see it as a success or failure. I see it as roughly 2,000 residents haven’t activated their card and they might be experiencing food insecurity so how do we address that?”
To help raise awareness, Mayor Thomas M. McGee, Lynn schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler and First Lady Lauren Baker participated in a virtual discussion with Jill Shah, president of the Shah Family Foundation, last month.
McGee and Tutwiler urged Lynn families with children enrolled in the public schools to use the funds available to them through the P-EBT program, which will not only help feed their kids through the COVID-19 crisis, but boost the local economy.
“There’s $200 million in federal funding that has been provided just in Massachusetts for the P-EBT program,” said Shah. “All of that goes back into the local economy if everyone uses it.”
In Lynn alone, those 1,900 unactivated cards represent about $750,000 that could be pushed back into the economy, Shah said.
“The card is available for use to put food on the table for families that need it, but just as importantly it really is helping many of our businesses in our community,” said McGee. “This pandemic has really impacted small businesses in a big way.
“And bodegas and smaller grocery stores throughout our community, particularly in areas where there’s a lot of dense population, they really need the business, so the cards are really making a difference across the board.”
Baker said the funds can be used anywhere that accepts SNAP — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or Department of Transitional Assistance benefits, which includes local grocery stores, retailers and farmers markets. People can also use their P-EBT benefits online through Amazon and Walmart, she said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the weekly average number of SNAP applications has increased by nearly 400 percent, according to the Shah Family Foundation.
“Issues have become more prominent during the pandemic,” said Guscott. “If you are the breadwinner for your family and contract COVID-19, what funds are you going to use? How are you going to get to the grocery store?”
“During this pandemic, there’s been a real challenge with food insecurity,” said McGee. “This is such a great resource and we want to make sure everyone has had a chance to get their cards activated and use them.”
