It's been a busy couple of months at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

What You Need To Know

  • Senator Kirsten Gillibrand visited the Food Bank of the Southern Tier Wednesday and called for an extension to the P-EBT program

  • The Pandemic EBT program provides meal support to families in need, something that will become even more important as students return to the classroom, virtual or not

  • Currently, 41,000 students in the Southern Tier alone rely on free or reduced lunches

  • Gillibrand is calling for $3.5 billion in food support in the next COVID relief package

Since the pandemic started, volunteers have seen a 50 percent increase in the demand for their services.

With the school year approaching, those numbers are expected to rise.

"Particularly families with young children who are either not going to be in school, or are only to be in school a limited number of days. It's going to be harder for those kids to access school meals," said Natasha Thompson, Food Bank of the Southern Tier president and CEO.

Thousands of children will soon no longer qualify for the pandemic EBT program, which is set to expire at the end of the summer.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) stopped by the food bank Wednesday to call for an extension of that program and a 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits.

"Kids can’t learn if they are hungry. I'm a mother. I know this. Kids have to be well fed, and if we care about our future, we care about our kids," Gillibrand said.

The Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT program provides resources to families who have lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures caused by the pandemic. 

This extension would supplement their meals well into the school year, whether that be in person or online.

"It's an additional benefit that's on their card. They can use it at the grocery store, and so we're not only feeding families with kids, we're also supporting local businesses, because those benefits are being used in those communities," said Thompson.

Gillibrand also stopped by George R. Staley Elementary School in Rome.

She's calling for $3.5 billion in food assistance to be included in the next COVID-19 package

"We all love our children and during this pandemic, many parents have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. They're not allowed to go to work, they're not allowed to earn money, and what that means is there's not enough food to put on the table," said Gillibrand.

41,000 children in the Southern Tier alone rely on some sort of assistance in paying for school meals.