Dive Brief:
- This summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch a new permanent nutrition assistance program known as Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer. Estimates suggest the program could reduce food insecurity and improve nutrition for 29 million school-aged children if implemented nationwide.
- Families with children who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals will receive $40 per child each month to buy food during the summer, when school is out. Congress approved the program in December 2022 through the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
- States were required to file an intent to enroll in the program by Jan. 1. Over 30 states plan to enroll in the USDA program as of Wednesday, while a handful of others — including Iowa and Nebraska — have declined to participate.
Dive Insight:
School districts located in states that opt into the Summer EBT program will have to share with state officials their data on which students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, said Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-school time programs at the Food Research and Action Center.
“The goal is to make it as seamless as possible for everybody, but it is a new program, and people will have to set up systems,” FitzSimons said. “With each passing year with Summer EBT, I think it will be easier for everybody.”
School leaders should be excited about the new program, FitzSimons said, because the benefits model has previously demonstrated it can reduce child food insecurity and also better meet their nutritional needs. “It’s going to help support kids returning back to school in the fall well-nourished and in a better place to start learning.”
But not all states are jumping on board this year.
Some state leaders have cited barriers to enrolling, including the program’s requirements for a state to cover 50% of the costs to administer Summer EBT. Others have said the program is not necessary alongside existing programs, including other federal initiatives that help schools and other affiliated summer programs serve meals when schools are closed.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, for instance, announced Friday the state would not accept Summer EBT program funds.
“COVID-19 is over and Nebraska taxpayers expect that pandemic-era government relief programs will end too,” Pillen said in a statement. “To be clear, this does not mean that hungry kids will lose access to summer nutrition programs. Nebraska continues to participate in the existing USDA Summer Food Services Program (SFSB), which best ensures access to nutritious food options and protective services to children who are in need.”
Iowa also declined to participate in the Summer EBT program this year, noting that it would cost the state roughly $2.2 million to cover the required administrative costs.
“Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement.
If enrolled in Summer EBT, Iowa could have received nearly $29 million in federal funds to help families buy groceries this summer, and Nebraska could have received $21 million, according to FRAC.
The USDA temporarily implemented the program nationwide during the pandemic, but the agency has also piloted Summer EBT in several states for more than a decade, FitzSimons said.
“We have had a challenge with kids having access to the nutrition they need during the summer — because of the loss of school meals — long before the pandemic,” she said.
Unlike during the pandemic, however, states will now have to front some of the now-permanent program’s administrative costs. States that did express intent to enroll must submit an operations and management plan to USDA by Feb. 15.
While the Summer EBT program is separate from currently operating school summer meal programs run through the federal School Food Service Program, FitzSimons views the Summer EBT program as a complement to ongoing efforts to feed children during summer breaks. The USDA also encourages families to participate in all available summer nutrition programs.
FitzSimons is hopeful that states that do not enroll in Summer EBT this year may choose to do so in the future.
For states moving forward with the program, she said, schools will be a crucial partner to make Summer EBT happen. For school leaders who are passionate about this issue and reside in states that have opted out, FitzSimons recommends that they consider weighing in with state education departments and policymakers to encourage implementing the program next year.
