INDIANAPOLIS -- Many Indiana families will have an easier time feeding their children this summer.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an extension of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program.

The program was first launched in March 2020 to reach children who qualify for free and reduced-price meals at school but weren't able to attend in person.

Kate Howe, executive director of the Indy Hunger Network, said the extension is a game changer during months when it's hard to reach kids.

She noted summer meals typically are provided through schools, community centers and other organizations.

"But there are some serious limitations to that program in the way that the money can be spent," Howe explained. "And so P-EBT will allow families to buy food for their kids to eat at home rather than having to go to a meal site to get a meal in the summertime when school's out."

Families will receive close to $7 per child per weekday, or about $375 per month. Nearly 650,000 Indiana children are expected to qualify, and benefits to the state will total more than $240 million, according to the USDA. Those numbers include benefits for children from birth to age six who are not in school.

Howe pointed out people may not realize the free and reduced-price school meal program is one of the biggest food programs in the country.

"The pandemic has really highlighted how many kids get fed at school and how important those free and reduced-price lunch and school breakfast are for feeding kids," Howe remarked.

The P-EBT program is partially based on the summer EBT program for children, which the USDA has piloted around the country since 2011. Howe hopes the agency extends the program once the pandemic ends.

Oregonians are casting their ballots for Tuesday's primary election. One issue affecting many voters is access to child care.

Courtney Helstein, senior political director with the organization Family Forward Oregon, said child-care affordability was a problem before COVID-19 and the pandemic has only exacerbated it.

She said women, particularly women of color, have felt the disproportionate impacts of care costs and accessibility. Helstein said the costs mean some have to make tough decisions.

"The result of all these high costs is that too many families are actually forced to choose between child care, between meals, between other basic necessities," said Helstein. "And they're also having to weigh the financial costs of, 'Is it actually more cost effective for me and my family for me to not work?'"

Helstein said demand has never been higher for child care, but workers in the field are among the lowest paid in the country.

She said there have been some successes in the Oregon Legislature, including investments in early childhood learning and community-led pilot projects.

Matt Newell-Ching, senior policy manager with the nonpartisan nonprofit Oregon Food Bank, said access to child care is a hunger issue.

The food bank surveyed candidates for governor about food insecurity, and their responses are posted on its website.

Newell-Ching said there's a question about child care because Oregon Food Bank believes it will continue to be an issue for Oregon families.

"Whoever the next governor is," said Newell-Ching, "we believe it's critical that we as a state come together to ensure kids have a safe place to be while parents are working because it impacts every communities' ability to rebuild and thrive."

Helstein said we need to look at child care differently.

"We're seeing the beginning of this culture shift," said Helstein, "across the country, but definitely in the state of Oregon, of really starting to reframe access to child care from kind of like a personal problem to a societal problem, to a community benefit."

The deadline to vote in Oregon's primary is Tuesday. Drop sites for ballots will be open until 8 p.m.

Reporting by Oregon News Service funded in part by Oregon Food Bank.

Mail carriers across New Mexico are gearing-up for the "2022 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive" this Saturday, May 14. The National Association of Letter Carriers with the U.S. Postal Service encourage postal customers to leave a bag in or near their mailbox filled with nonperishable food, to be picked up by mail carriers and shared with Roadrunner Food Bank for distribution. Comments from Marie Montano, carrier, National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 504, Albuquerque.

Marie Montano, a letter carrier for the Postal Service and member of the National Association of Letter Carriers Local 504 in Albuquerque leads the drive, said donations help replenish the shelves at Roadrunner Food Bank.

Montano noted the project is close to her heart, because she remembers her own family sometimes struggled to make ends meet.

"There were six of us in my family, so I remember that it was sometimes tight for my parents," Montano recounted. "And if I can do it now, to help out, I will do as much as I can, because I remember that."

Due to COVID, letter carriers had to forgo the annual tradition the past two years, and instead competed in friendly contests to raise cash for Roadrunner, topping out at $10,000 last year.

The annual event, held the second Saturday in May, takes place in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and beyond.

According to Montano, postal customers just need to put food items next to their mail slot and a letter carrier will do the rest.

"Some of my customers don't have the time to go and take it to Roadrunner," Montano acknowledged. "Everybody's so busy now and with COVID going on, they were kind-of scared, and it's easy for a lot of our customers."

Because of the two-year COVID hiatus, Montano is not sure what to expect for this year's drive, but said current letter carriers, retirees and countless volunteers will do their best to make it successful.

"I'd like to hit 200,000 pounds for Albuquerque," Montano emphasized. "We've gone a little bit close, I don't know that we've fully gone over, over in the one-day pick-up. I think the highest we've gone is, like, 195,000."

People are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing nonperishable food items that are not expired -- such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, pasta, peanut butter, rice or cereal -- next to their mailbox before the regular mail delivery time on Saturday.

It's Hunger Action Week, and activists are asking lawmakers to use California's wealth for the people's health - and harness the budget surplus to battle food insecurity.

Advocates hope to phone and zoom with all 120 members of the State Assembly and Senate. Their top priority is the Food 4 All bill (SB 464), which would extend CalFresh food assistance to undocumented people of all ages.

Frank Tamborello is executive director of Hunger Action Los Angeles.

"With the double hit of food-price inflation coupled with an expected reduction in public benefits due to the pandemic emergency being lifted pretty soon," said Tamborello, "it's a critical moment to take up our legislators and tell them that they need to use the state surplus to alleviate the continued suffering."

Pandemic-induced poverty has not abated. Statistics show that one in five Californians still struggle with food insecurity.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget proposal would put $50 million toward the CalFood program, which helps food banks to purchase California-grown foods.

Becky Silva, senior policy advocate with the California Association of Food Banks, said she hopes it gets bumped up to $120 million in the May 15 budget revise.

"A lot of our food banks are still saying that they're serving double the number of people," said Silva, "sometimes even triple the number of people pre-pandemic."

Wes Saver, senior policy manager with the GLIDE Center for Social Justice in San Francisco, said he would like the state to implement a planned increase for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in 2023 instead of 2024.

"Despite the federal and state interventions, food insecurity in California remains with really deep inequities in communities of color," said Saver. "More than a quarter of Black and Latinx families reported food insecurity, which is double the rate of white families."

Todd Cunningham is an organizer with the Skid Row Food and Wellness Collaborative at the Los Angeles Community Action Network. He said this year people actually experiencing homelessness will be on the zoom calls with legislators.

"Folks who may never have had the opportunity to go to Sacramento in the past can now speak about their lived experiences," said Cunningham. "It results in more enlightened and better-informed decision-making about food policy. The people who are living day to day with the issues make the greatest impact."