(NEWSnet/AP) – Nearly 21 million children in the U.S. and its territories are expected to receive special EBT food benefits this summer, the United States Department of Agriculture reported.

Thirty-five states, all five U.S. territories and four tribes opted into the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, or Summer EBT, which the government says is meant to help fill the gaps amid other summer food programs that tend to have a more limited reach.

The newly permanent federal program is a follow up to testing for several years, the USDA said.

Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming chose not to participate this summer. Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma cited existing programs that already feed children during the summer as reasons not to join Summer EBT.

The states that chose not to opt in for this summer will be able to participate in summer 2025, the USDA said in its announcement.

The Cherokee Nation is among the tribes that will participate this summer. Cherokee National Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said it was an easy decision.

“I think we’re seeing a lot of pressures on households in terms of rent or other housing costs, all of that hitting very finite household budgets,” he said.

The Cherokee Nation has its headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma — a state that opted out of Summer EBT. Hoskin said he expects to see applications from non-tribal citizens who live on the reservation.

Who Will Be Eligible for Summer EBT?

 

Families with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches on an income basis (specifically families who are at or under 185% of the federal poverty line) will be eligible for Summer EBT.

Eligible families will receive $40 per month per child during the summer — a total of $120 per child for the summer. The money will be loaded on an EBT card, which can be used at stores that also take Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

What Other Summer Food Programs Are Available?

 

All 50 states do administer the Summer Food Service Program, which provides designated sites where kids can eat meals for free.

Vilsack said he is concerned it doesn’t “provide the help for all the children, no matter how well-intentioned it is.”

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