Summer EBT for Advocates - Food Research & Action Center

Summer EBT

In the summer, kids lose access to the school meals they rely on throughout the school year. As a result, hunger spikes during the summer months, but now, there’s a new program that provides food assistance benefits to bridge the summer hunger gap. Summer EBT (Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer) is a new, permanent, nationwide program established by Congress in December 2022. It provides families $120 in federally funded grocery benefits on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card for each school-age child who is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Benefits for families in Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories will be slightly higher.

Quick Facts

Starting in Summer 2024, eligible families will receive money on an EBT card to purchase groceries at approved stores during the summer months. 37 states, Washington DC, all US territories, and 2 Tribes will be participating in 2024.
Summer EBT is a proven method to reduce household food insecurity and improve nutrition during the summer months.
The program acts as a complement to the traditional Summer Nutrition Programs.

The Permanent Summer EBT Program

Eligibility
Children are eligible for Summer EBT benefits if they qualify for free or reduced-price meals during the school year. Schools determine eligibility for free or reduced-price meals by asking families to fill out a school meal application, or by directly certifying if the child participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid (if applicable in the state), or if they are experiencing homelessness, a foster child, or migrant student. This includes school-age children who are not enrolled in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or the School Breakfast Program and can be directly certified (meet one of the criteria in the previous sentence), including those being homeschooled or attending virtual schools. Children participating in Head Start programs are categorically eligible but do not typically fall within the USDA definition of school age. Those Head Start children who participate in a program running the National School Lunch Program will be eligible. 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.

Families need to apply for Summer EBT if their student attends a Community Eligibility or Provision 2 school and is not directly certified through the program options listed above. For more information on eligibility, please see FRAC’s Eligibility Guide.
Summer EBT and Summer Meals
Summer EBT does not replace the Summer Nutrition Programs. They are complementary programs and families are encouraged to use both programs to meet their nutrition needs during the summer months.
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT)
Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) was a program that provided nutritional resources to families who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to COVID-19 school or childcare closures between March 2020 and September 2023. Families received money on a new or existing EBT card to help fill the school and childcare meals gap throughout the three years this program ran. This program is no longer active. Access FRAC’s resources on Pandemic EBT.

FRAC Summer EBT Resources

State Participation in Summer EBT

All states in blue are participating. Click on your state to visit your state’s Summer EBT website. If your state is not participating, you cannot receive Summer EBT. 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.

Participating in Summer EBT
Not Participating in Summer EBT

State Name

More information about Summer EBT is available on USDA’s website.