Nutrition Assistance for Disaster Relief During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Summary

Hunger has surged to unprecedented levels during the coronavirus pandemic. When disasters strike, kids are even more likely to struggle with hunger.

There are many opportunities for state agencies to work with sponsors, school districts and the USDA to provide critical nutrition to kids impacted by natural disaster through the existing federal nutrition programs. COVID-19 has complicated some traditional aspects of disaster response, like mass feeding sites. However, some COVID-19 flexibilities may be leveraged along with usual disaster response and recovery options.

This one-pager walks through options for providing nutrition assistance following natural disasters, including D-SNAP and meal distribution for kids, and discusses how these relate to COVID-19 response flexibilities. It also provides links to key resources for more information.

Supporting kids and families with nutrition assistance following natural disasters is even more critical during the coronavirus pandemic, though it presents some new challenges.