The Biden administration has come up with a new $700 million program to assist Americans to pay for protective equipment or child care among other crucial expenses. With this, the government intends to offer financial relief through what are essentially targeted stimulus checks. However, the cash will only be available for select eligible people.
According to reports, the new stimulus check will be available to farmworkers, grocery workers, and those in the meat-packing plants. The program is called Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program, and it is available to those who work in food-related industries and could not shelter in place or work from home because it was not an available option for them.
The Internal Revenue Service will not distribute this stimulus check. The distributions will be made by state agencies, non-profit organizations, and tribal entities. They will be the ones to apply for the funding and distribute the money to the workers.
Every person eligible under the Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program can receive as much as $600 for pandemic health and safety-related costs. The money will cover expenses such as personal protective equipment, child care, and other expenses related to testing or quarantining. Of the $700 million budget for the Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program, around $20 million was set aside for grocery store employees, but it remains unclear how much they will be getting.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement, “Our farmworkers, meat-packing workers, and grocery workers overcame unprecedented challenges and took on significant personal risk to ensure Americans could feed and sustain their families throughout the pandemic. They deserve recognition for their resilience and financial support for their efforts to meet personal and family needs while continuing to provide essential services.”
Also Read: What You Should Do If You Did Not Receive Any Or All Federal Stimulus Checks
If you are not eligible for the Farm and Food Workers Relief grant program, you may check if you qualify for the expanded child tax credit program, which recently sent out the third round of payments to families. There is also a $46 billion fund for emergency rental assistance, and as of last month, only 11 percent of the funds have been distributed. Struggling homeowners as to paying their mortgages may also check out available financial aid from the federal government.
