NEWS BRIEFS

‘The Contributor’ partners with Big Machine Distillery

Big Machine Distillery and The Contributor are partnering to give paper vendors hand sanitizer to distribute alongside the newspaper.

“It will be a long while until vendors’ incomes move back up as streets will still be emptier and people have less cash,” says Cathy Jennings, director of The Contributor. “We are grateful that Big Machine is partnering with us and believe the city will benefit from having sanitizer easily available! We hope this effort gives our vendors another tool in which to earn income.”

Big Machine Distillery has committed to jumpstarting the effort by giving 1,000 individual-sized bottles of hand sanitizer to The Contributor.

“We continue to feel blessed during these challenging times to be able to support Nashvillians in need,” says Big Machine Distillery EVP, Mark Borchetta. “The Contributor has proven to be a light for so many in our community, and we are happy to be partnering with them to further their efforts.”

Big Machine Distillery started making hand sanitizer in March in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The sanitizer is 80 percent alcohol and made in accordance with FDA and WHO guidelines.

The bottles of Big Machine Hand Sanitizer will be co-branded with The Contributor and provided to the newspaper vendors.

“Our vendors are concerned with keeping safe and making sure their customers are safe also,” says Jennings. “They are committed to doing everything they can to prevent the spread of the virus.”

Families with children may be eligible for EBT resources

The Tennessee Department of Human Services and the Tennessee Department of Education announced Tennessee families are now eligible to receive financial support for their children’s nutritional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This support is provided through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program.

Under the new P-EBT program, families of children who receive free or reduced meals at school or attend a Community Eligibility Provision school may receive financial assis tance to replace school meals during the months of March, April and May due to COVID-19 school closures. The program will provide parents with $5.70 per child for each day that child qualifies for P-EBT.

“Families across our state depend on the meals their children receive at school and many were not prepared to immediately replace those meals when schools shut down for COVID-19,” said TDHS Commissioner Danielle W. Barnes. “The P-EBT program brings economic support to ensure children receive the nutrition they need. Helping families through this emergency is how we continue building a thriving Tennessee.”

Parents who already receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits currently do not need to apply. The funds began

arriving on the EBT card they already use beginning June 12. Parents who do not receive SNAP benefits, but whose children do qualify for free or reduced school meals, will need to apply for P-EBT online here beginning June 15. The application period will end June 29, 2020.

Individuals who need assistance completing their P-EBT application or have general questions about the program are encouraged to call the TDHS hotline at 1-833-496-0661 and select option 3. Qualifying families will receive P-EBT support in two installments, one for meals in March and April initially, and then one additional disbursement later next month for May meals.

“During the COVID-19 school closures, we saw an incredible, herculean effort to keep providing meal services to students and families,” said TDOE Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “This additional relief from P-EBT will be helpful during this time of uncertainty for families and it is important to make sure every eligible family knows about the program.”

Throughout the COVID-19 school closures, many districts and schools across Tennessee used innovative ways to continue delivering meals to students and families, such as “grab and go” options, drive-throughs, or bus delivery, and on average provided 1.5 million meals a week.

Tennessee legislators pass restrictive abortion bill

The Tennessee General Assembly passed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country after voting on it in the middle of the night while constituents were sleeping.

The legislation, which is likely an attempt to move toward a Roe v. Wade challenge, criminalizes medical professionals who perform an abortion after six weeks. The bill also restricts the reasons a woman can have an abortion and includes language prohibiting abortion at multiple points in a woman’s pregnancy.

The American Civil Liberties Union in Tennesse says it’s an attempt to ensure that abortion access is taken away even if the courts strike down the six-week ban portion of the bill.

The bill would also require woman seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound where a doctor must describe the images. This bill effectively outlaws abortion in the state of Tennessee.

“The Tennessee General Assembly’s passage of this dangerous, flatly unconstitutional bill is unacceptable,” said Hedy Weinberg, ACLU-TN executive director. “Lawmakers used this measure in a game of political maneuvering to pass the state budget – pushing it through without regard for the actual Tennesseans who will be denied access to the care they need, including abortion. Lack of access to abortion care particularly harms those struggling financially and those who already face significant barriers to health care, including people of color, people with limited incomes, rural people, and young people. Politicians should not be deciding what is best for women and certainly not making reproductive health care decisions for them. As promised, we will see them in court.”