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1 <br /> ORD-2023-011 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 21, 2023 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 6-a <br /> SUBJECT: End of Food and Nutrition Pandemic Emergency Allocations and Unwinding of <br /> the Public Health Emergency Declaration and Approval of Budget Amendment <br /> #6-A <br /> DEPARTMENT: Social Services <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Year-to-Date Budget Report Nancy Coston, 919-245-2802 <br /> Lindsey Shewmaker, 919-245-2817 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive an update regarding the impacts of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) <br /> unwinding and reduction of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) benefits due to the end of <br /> emergency allocations, and to approve time-limited staff positions and funds to assist recipients <br /> affected by this change through Budget Amendment #6-A. <br /> BACKGROUND: The PHE declaration will officially end on May 11, 2023. This will have several <br /> impacts on clients and the workload of the Department of Social Services (DSS). <br /> Effective March 1, 2023, the emergency allocations provided through Food and Nutrition Services <br /> (FNS) will end. Households that have been receiving extra FNS benefits (called "emergency <br /> allotments") each month since March 2020 or after will see a reduction in benefits because of a <br /> federal change that ends emergency allotments for all states. <br /> As part of the COVID-19 public health emergency, families enrolled in the FNS program in North <br /> Carolina have been receiving at least $95 extra per month since March 2020 through emergency <br /> allotments. With the end of emergency allotments, the average FNS benefit per person per day <br /> will decrease from $8.12 to $5.45. <br /> These emergency allotments have been critical in helping families compensate for financial and <br /> economic hardships due to COVID-19. <br /> Since March 2020, an average of 6,000 Orange County households received FNS emergency <br /> allotments, giving more families access to nutritious meals that support healthy and productive <br /> lives, and bringing approximately $1.3 million federal dollars each month into the local economy. <br />