The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced today that more than 215,000 FoodShare households will be receiving additional benefits. These benefits will help those Wisconsin families stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The effects of the pandemic have been hard on all Wisconsinites, but especially hard on the most vulnerable people in our state,” said Andrea Palm, Secretary-designee of the Department of Health Services. “The ability for eligible households to access additional FoodShare benefits during this public health emergency provides an important lifeline to one of our most basic human needs.”

Under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Wisconsin is able to provide FoodShare recipients with the maximum monthly benefit amount, based on the number of people in their household, for two months.

As a result, for March and April, FoodShare households not currently receiving the maximum monthly benefit amount for their family size will receive additional benefits bringing them up to that level. The additional March benefits will be available on QUEST cards on April 12, and the additional April benefits will be available on QUEST cards on April 26. If the COVID-19 emergency extends beyond April, DHS will work with its federal partners on any future opportunities to provide additional emergency allotments.

Households will receive a letter notifying them of the additional benefits. Households already receiving the maximum amount will not receive additional benefits. The following is the maximum monthly benefit amount based on the number of people in the household:

People in the household	Maximum monthly benefit amount
1	$  194
2	$  355
3	$  509
4	$  646
5	$  768
6	$  921
7	$1,018
8	$1,164
Each additional person	Add $146