Pandemic EBT is a new program, operating since March 2020, that provides children who receive free or reduced-price meals with a voucher to purchase groceries for an amount equal to the value of school meals missed due to pandemic-related school closures. This program is being considered as a model for future nutritional assistance programs. Although Pandemic EBT reached most families of school-aged children, little is known about the program’s causal effects on food and economic hardship and how these effects vary across groups. This project will provide some of the first causal evidence on how the Pandemic EBT program affects well-being. Specific aims are to: (1) fill knowledge gaps on how nutritional assistance can help families overcome hardship when school is out of session, and (2) provide insights on how these effects vary across disadvantaged populations.

Start Date: 6/15/2022