New federal program aims to combat childhood hunger: Who will receive these additional benefits?

Over forty million people in the US receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, every month. While SNAP is a federal program, it is administered by the states, giving the individual governments some oversight in managing the benefit program.

Every month, benefits are deposited to an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which functions like a debit card and enables beneficiaries to purchase food at most supermarkets. The benefits you receive vary depending on the number of members in your household. However, some individuals may receive even more benefits during the summer when kids are at home and are not provided meals through school lunch programs.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will launch the Summer EBT Program this summer, another benefit scheme aimed at helping millions of eligible families receive additional benefits during the warmer months. These funds are intended to support families whose children receive free breakfast and/or lunch through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) throughout the year.

Who is eligible to receive these benefits?

In announcing the new program, the USDA has said that the program aims to ensure food security and hunger does not increase in the families of around “30 million children participate in USDA’s school breakfast and lunch programs on any given school day.” The USDA has found that in the summer months, only “1 in 6 kids who eat free and reduced-price school lunch participate in the summer meals program.” To address this issue, families with children will see an additional $40 for each child, tacked onto their benefit amount in June, July, and August (timelines may differ by state).

These are the eligibility requirements:

Eligibility is automatic, and no further actions are needed to load the additional benefits onto your EBT card. If you do not have these guidelines, you must submit a school meal application.

If you have questions about eligibility, contact the relevant authority in your state that distributes these benefits. Applications are available online through the school district’s website to which your child belongs. If you want to apply in person, check the summer food site finder to find the one closest to you. You can also text “Summer Meals” to 914-342-7744 or call 1-866-348-6479 to find a location near you. For more information, visit the Summer EBT web portal.

Which states are participating in the federal initiative?

So far, 36 states, the District of Columbia, three tribal communities, and US territories, including American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A look at SUN Bucks in California

In California, the program has been dubbed SUN Bucks, and it will “work just like CalFresh.” As in other states, the parents of children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals or are enrolled in CalFresh, CalWorks, or Medi-Cal will not need to take any additional actions, and their child will be enrolled automatically.

The Golden State will make the additional payments in June, July, and August and will send a prepaid debit card with the value preloaded onto a prepaid debit card as the summer begins. Each card will be loaded with $120 per eligible child who lives in the home.