Combat COVID-19 Starvation By Going Here

See how one website can help prevent that from happening during these tough times caused by the coronavirus.

Think of the essential you genuinely need to survive. Then think of how they’ve been impacted since COVID-19 came onto the scene.

Your shelter was probably affected due to losing your job, being furloughed, or seeing a drop in your income. With such happenings, how can you be expected to pay your rent or mortgage? Luckily, some eviction halts were put into place to keep you in your home.

What comes next? Food, although you could argue it’s even more important than shelter. You can only survive a certain number of days without food, making it an absolute must. But again, how can you pay for something when you’re almost out of money? In this case, the answer is to get help from the government and one of its food assistance programs.

You could start searching for such programs one by one. Or you could go to the USA.gov food assistance page to see them all in a single spot.

Finding Food Assistance Through USA.gov

There are two main reasons to use this site for your coronavirus food assistance needs. First, it’s an official site of the U.S. government, meaning you can trust it without worrying about misinformation or being scammed. Second, it showcases various ways to get help with food in one place.

If you need food so severely that hunger has already struck, your best bet is to get immediate aid via the National Hunger Hotline. This phone line comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and it’s intended to offer emergency food assistance.

You can get advice in English or Spanish by calling 1-866-3-HUNGRY. Just make sure you call during the line’s office hours, which are 7 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday.

The National Hunger Hotline isn’t the only number to call if you need immediate food aid, as 211 is another. Dialing those three digits on your phone can point you in the right direction of any local emergency food assistance from churches and other religious organizations or community groups.

Do you have any children who attend school? Check out the section on the USA.gov food assistance page regarding free food programs for school-age children. It can offer a huge help, even though children may be learning virtually for a while.

Long-Term Food Help

Financial issues from the coronavirus may be a wakeup call that you need food assistance not just now, but possibly into the future as well. For long-term support, USA.gov offers two programs: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

SNAP (aka food stamps) is widely popular and can give you the buying power necessary to get groceries. If accepted, you may get a card that can be swiped at participating stores to help you pay for food.

WIC functions similarly to SNAP, but it’s intended for pregnant women or those with very young children. WIC may have more food restrictions that limit you to buying certain products. Regardless, it can help, especially since caring for young children can be quite costly.