USDA Announces Summer P-EBT Program

Written by Maggie Paulk | Jul 12, 2022

On July 11^th, 2022, the USDA announced their P-EBT program, which is a partnership with 27 states and territories (and growing) that provides summer food benefits to eligible children. For years, the summertime has been a struggle for millions of families who rely heavily on the school system to feed their children throughout the year. Cindy Long, USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator said “Child food benefits can bridge the gap and help families provide the nourishment their children deserve. These benefits can help American families in need cope with rising food costs.”

These 27 states plan to provide EBT for children over the summer, known as P-EBT:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

This program is available for children who receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year or are under the age of six and living in a household that receives SNAP.

Three positive impacts of this program include:

1. Decreasing by one-third the number of households with children who do not always have enough to eat
2. Reaching children across diverse geographical areas–including difficult-to-reach rural populations
3. Increasing consumption of nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy

The USDA is working diligently to get this program approved in every state in the U.S., as access to food for certain schoolchildren during the summer months has been an issue for far too long. The P-EBT program is expected to benefit 13 million children.