SAN ANTONIO - There is a new push to extend and expand the pandemic electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) program.
If approved, it would mean another round of financial aid for families needing help feeding their children.
Democratic State Rep. Ray Lopez sent a letter to Senator Ted Cruz and Senator John Cornyn urging them to extend the funds into the current school year and to expand eligibility to include children under six who get free meals through childcare.
Rep. Lopez said he has already heard back from Senator Cornyn, who sent a letter to USDA urging them to extend school nutrition programs.
To view Cornyn's email, click here.
"It is going to make such a difference if we do get more funds," said Sarah Williams, who has a son at Lamar Elementary.
Williams was just one of the many people in the San Antonio area who applied and received a P-EBT card.
"I definitely started to notice that difference in our food bill," Williams said. "I was now having to provide him with at least two meals in a snack every day that I normally haven't budgeted for."
The new school year is already underway for most Texas students, but with most children staying home during the pandemic some parents are struggling to put food on the table.
"I have been using the funds that they gave us to buy food," Williams said. "Just yesterday actually I ordered specific lunches for the next couple of weeks."
The cards were a federally funded benefit for families who lost access to free or reduced-price lunches during the 2019-2020 school year.
Each card had $285 on it per child.
"It can be financially overwhelming to have to budget for that," said Veronica Betancourt, who also has a son at Lamar Elementary.
For Betancourt's family, the funds truly made a difference.
"Because then we can use it to buy the staples that we need in terms of diet-sensitive or diet-specific needs," Betancourt said.
The card was a one time deal, but Rep. Lopez is pushing for the extra funds to go back to families like the Bentancourt's and the Williams's.
"What I'm asking for specifically, and I think it just makes an awful lot of sense is to expand or to extend the nutrition program for children," Rep. Lopez said.
He said that with more children learning from home, more needs to be done to make sure they are adequately fed.
"We've got to figure out a way to continue these aggressive nutrition programs," Rep. Lopez said.
Rep. Lopez added that he would like to see any extra funds redirected to food banks.
"Because indeed, with the food banks are doing is the same thing that we're trying to get down with P-EBT," Rep. Lopez said.