Illinois families with school-age children may be eligible for a new program over the summer break that aims to replace free school meals.
Participating families will receive a one-time grocery debit card loaded with $120 per child, thanks to the federally funded Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program.
“Many families who rely on these free and reduced-price school meals that they get during the school year lose access to these important sources of nutrition in the summer when school is out,” said Man-Yee Lee, director of communications for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. “That really creates a lot of hardship for many families who are already struggling to make ends meet.”
The benefits will be accepted at the same locations as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including traditional grocers as well as convenience stores.
Summer benefit transfers have existed in some form since 2011 through pilot programs, but now they will be permanent.
“Most children that are eligible for Summer EBT are going to receive these automatically without filling out any kind of application,” said Clarissa Hayes, deputy director of child nutrition programs and policy for the Food Research & Action Center.
More specifically, any family with school-age children and with a household income that’s 185% below the poverty line are eligible for the program.
The annual income limit is $36,482 for a two-person household, rising to $55,500 for a four-person household.
Families already receiving public assistance benefits — such as SNAP or Income Eligible Medicaid — will automatically see the benefits loaded onto the Link card they used for previous benefits.
The families of kids already enrolled in free or reduced-cost school meals also will receive the debit card automatically, though they need to make sure their addresses are up to date.
Children who meet the income requirements and attend schools that provide free or reduced-cost lunches to all students should contact their school to fill out an application.
“Children consume up to 50% of their total daily calories at school,” said Lee, whose organization is leading the statewide awareness campaign. When students “don’t get enough nutrition over the summer, they’re more likely to experience long-term health consequences and experience what we call a summer slide in academics,” she added, referring to a loss of academic progress made during the prior school year.
“Summer can be the hungriest time for children because as the school year ends, millions of children lose access to school meals,” Hayes said. “We know summer EBT — through research and through evaluation — is a proven strategy for reducing food insecurity.”
Benefits will be issued in late summer for 2024 and are available regardless of immigration status.
The quick implementation of the program may explain why cards are being distributed at summer’s end, Lee and Hayes said.
“We were only told about getting this funding only a few months ago,” she said. “There’s a lot of things ... that need to be in place, not to mention public awareness.”
Illinois will be one of 37 states offering the program. Each state has to match 50% of administration costs, Hayes said.
Benefits must be used within 120 days.
“[Summer EBT] will really ensure that all Illinois children remain nourished and active during the summer,” Lee said. “So that they can really just enjoy being a kid during the summer and then that means they are ready to resume learning when classes begin in the fall.”
For more information, visit www.wegotyouillinois.org/summer-ebt.com.
