When the pandemic hit the U.S. back in March of 2020, the federal government was quick to dole out relief, loathe to make the same expediency-based mistakes made during the financial crisis of 2008. And notably, as far as staving off hunger goes, much of that aid seems to have worked.

What changed about the government’s anti-poverty approach during the pandemic was its willingness to issue direct aid to households in cash, rather than non-cash assistance like food stamps or subsidized housing, Politico writes. The method was simple, quick, and allowed recipients to spend the money on whatever they needed, rather than force it to be spent on qualifying items.