Summer EBT for Families

A. Most states are participating in Summer 2024. See the map below for a link to specific information about your state’s program. If your state is not participating, you cannot receive Summer EBT.  

The following states have opted not to run the program this year:

• Alabama,
• Alaska,
• Florida,
• Georgia,
• Idaho,
• Iowa,
• Mississippi,
• Oklahoma,
• South Carolina,
• South Dakota,
• Texas,
• Utah, and
• Wyoming.  

If your state is not participating this summer, your family may be able to receive summer meals if there is a summer meals site in your area.

States that are not participating this year can opt to run the program in 2025. Reach out to your Governor’s office and urge them to adopt Summer EBT next summer!

The District of Columbia and all the territories are participating. Additionally, The Cherokee Nation and The Chickasaw Nation are participating this summer and will be providing benefits to members of other Tribes and non-Tribal members in neighboring areas as well.

Your child is eligible if they attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Younger children who attend Head Start or a pre-K program may be eligible. To be eligible, the Head Start or pre-K program must provide meals through the National School Lunch program.

Your school age child is also eligible if your household participates in SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Distribution Program for Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Medicaid* (in states that have adopted Medicaid direct certification), or if your child is homeless, migrant, or in foster care. This includes school age children who do not attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and can be directly certified (meet one of the criteria in the previous sentence), including those being homeschooled or attending virtual schools and can be directly certified. School age varies by state, to find out how your state defines school age for children who are not enrolled in a school that participates in NSLP or SBP, click here.

For more information on eligibility, please see our Eligibility Guide.

*Most states are using Medicaid data. To participate in Summer EBT, families must also have a household income of 185 percent below the poverty line and participate in Medicaid.

A. Most eligible children do not need to apply for Summer EBT benefits. You do not need to apply if:  

• Your child(ren) is approved to receive free or reduced-price school meals through a school meal application, 
• Your household participates in SNAP, TANF, the Food Distribution Program for Indian Reservations, or Medicaid*, 
• Your child(ren) is homeless, in foster care, migrant, or in Head Start. 

You must submit an application if: 

• Your child(ren) attends a school that offers free meals to all students (through community eligibility or Provision 2 or 3) and does not fall into one of the categories above.  
• Your child(ren) attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch or Breakfast Programs but was not qualified for free or reduced-price school meals during the school year. This could be because you did not submit a school meal application during the school year, or your child became eligible during the summer.  

Visit your state website linked in the map below for more information on the process.    

*Most states are using Medicaid data. To participate in Summer EBT, families must also have a household income of 185 percent below the poverty line and participate in Medicaid.