The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is extending for 120 days the public comment period on the interim final rule, “Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-Congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs.”
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 authorized Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) as a permanent federal food assistance entitlement program beginning in summer 2024. Summer EBT has been tested through evaluations of demonstration projects since 2011. With pending implementation of this new program, this is an appropriate time to reflect on what USDA, FNS research has learned through more than a decade of study.
This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits for the period from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
USDA’s goal across all summer nutrition programs is simple: Connect children with nutritious food during the summer months to help them grow and thrive. The interim final rule published this week is an important step forward in increasing access to these services
The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (SEBTC) demonstration distributed a monthly benefit during the summer on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) EBT cards to children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. The first two summers (2011 and 2012) tested a $60 benefit amount. Summer 2013 compared the impacts of a $30 benefit to a $60 benefit, and summer 2014 examined implementation strategies and benefit use patterns. This comprehensive report presents results from the analysis of pooled data from all summer demonstrations.
This Congressional report summarizes the implementation and evaluation of two approaches tested in the summers of 2011 through 2013.
SEBTC demonstration offered a rigorous test of the impact of providing a monthly benefit of $60 per child - using existing electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems - on food insecurity among children during the summer when school meals are not available.
The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children conducted its initial proof-of-concept during the summer of 2011. The SEBTC demonstration aims to mitigate summer child food insecurity by leveraging existing EBT technologies used by the WIC and SNAP programs.
Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer For Children:Early Experiences through June 2011 of the Proof-of-Concept Year Contract #: AG-3198-C-11-0002
Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Model