FILE – In this Dec. 2, 2010, file photo, a child pays for a lunch consisting of fruits and vegetables during a school lunch program at Fairmeadow Elementary School in Palo Alto, Calif. California and Pennsylvania both passed laws in 2017 to outlaw "lunch shaming" of children for unpaid meals, with the Pennsylvania measure that became law in November requiring communication about money owed on meal accounts to be done between school officials and parents, and not involve the student.
Kate is covering the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
She covered poverty, social services and affordable housing at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for nearly five years; prior to that she spent several years in the paper’s Harrisburg bureau covering the legislature, governor, and state government.
She was part of the P-G staff that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting on the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. She has won numerous state and local awards for her reporting and was honored with a 2020 Keystone Media Award for her beat reporting on poverty.
She also previously reported for several newspapers in Ohio and covered the steel industry for a trade publication.
Paul Sakuma / AP Photo
FILE – In this Dec. 2, 2010, file photo, a child pays for a lunch consisting of fruits and vegetables during a school lunch program at Fairmeadow Elementary School in Palo Alto, Calif. California and Pennsylvania both passed laws in 2017 to outlaw "lunch shaming" of children for unpaid meals, with the Pennsylvania measure that became law in November requiring communication about money owed on meal accounts to be done between school officials and parents, and not involve the student.
Pennsylvania families should begin receiving benefits next month to make up for missed school meals related to COVID-19 closures this school year.
The Pandemic-EBT program was set up to help families cover the costs of free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches kids would have normally gotten in school but that they missed due to pandemic-related school closures. A child home for a 10-day quarantine this year would be eligible for about $71 in benefits.
Federal officials approved Pennsylvania’s plan, state officials announced earlier this month; eligible families should get their benefits in mid to late June, according to the state’s Department of Human Services.
Families who have previously received and activated P-EBT cards should keep them, state DHS officials said. Families who have an EBT card for other benefits will receive their funds through that card.
For more information about P-EBT, see this list of frequently asked questions from Just Harvest. If you need assistance with your P-EBT card, the state hotline is 484-363-2137.
