In participating states, low-income families will receive $40 each month for each eligible school-aged child, up to $120, to buy groceries, beginning in the summer of 2024. Shown is a sign at a grocery store noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards, on Dec. 4, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Fruits, fresh vegetables, ground beef and yogurt were among the first things Nedra Gaines bought when she received her three childrens’ Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer cards at the end of June.
A new federal food assistance program, Summer EBT, provides eligible children with $120 on a pre-loaded card to purchase groceries during a critical time of the year when students lose reliable meals at school. Thirteen states chose not to participate in the new program.
Gaines, 37, is raising three sons who attend the Monticello School District in southeast Arkansas. With ages ranging from six to 15, and at least one who’s active in sports, Gaines relied on the Summer EBT cards to help feed her growing boys.