As the temperatures rise and summer breaks begin, millions of children across the U.S. face an unfortunate reality: without school meals, their access to consistent and nutritious food becomes precarious. But today, that’s changing.
In 2023, Congress approved a huge investment in summer meals programs for kids, including a nationwide summer grocery benefit program called Summer EBT, offering states the option to implement a crucial tool to ensure kids get the nutrition they need when school cafeterias close.
Right now, 39 states across the political spectrum are stepping up to participate in this program, proving that ensuring children have enough to eat in the summer isn’t a partisan issue—it’s a moral imperative that communities across the country are recognizing and acting on.
When it comes to making sure kids get the food they need, more and more states—regardless of political leadership—are saying yes to Summer EBT. States like Utah and Alabama are implementing for the first time in 2025, following other conservative states that implemented last year, like Arkansas, Louisiana and Virginia. The program helped connect nearly 340,000 kids in Arkansas, nearly 600,000 kids in Louisiana and over 700,000 kids in Virginia with the food they needed last summer—totaling $155 million in benefits that went directly into those states.
While food assistance programs have sometimes been caught in partisan debates, this initiative is bringing together a diverse group of states that recognize a simple truth: when kids are nourished in the summer months, they return to school in the fall healthy and ready to learn.
For decades, advocates and policymakers have stressed the importance of summer nutrition programs, as research shows that food insecurity among children spikes when school is out.
Traditional summer meals programs, while valuable, reach only a fraction of eligible families due to a variety of barriers. Many families face logistical challenges like transportation, work conflicts, lack of nearby meal sites and extreme summer weather. Limited hours of operation and the inconvenience of having to visit a specific location further contribute to the underutilization of the program, leaving many kids without consistent access to nutritious meals during the summer months.
Summer EBT works alongside traditional meal programs to reach kids with the nutrition they need during summer break and it’s been tested through pilot projects for over a decade with proven benefits.
More states are embracing Summer EBT because they see the clear benefits for kids, families and communities. State leaders have pointed to the program’s role in helping working parents, boosting local economies as benefits are spent at local businesses and keeping kids healthy. In rural communities—where getting to summer meal sites isn’t always easy—this direct grocery benefit makes an enormous difference for families trying to bridge the gap when school meals aren’t available.
In 2024, 37 states, the District of Columbia, all five U.S. territories and two tribes implemented Summer EBT, with even more working toward bringing the program to life for their communities this year, recognizing Summer EBT as a smart solution to a very real problem.
Here’s how the program works: Summer EBT provides eligible families with additional grocery benefits—$120 per child per summer—working together with existing food assistance programs like summer meals programs and rural non-congregate meal service. The impact is clear: it’s projected that Summer EBT was able to reach 30 million kids last year.
The program is structured to be straightforward for eligible families, loading benefits onto an EBT card that can be used at authorized retailers like grocery stores and farmers markets. While traditional summer meal programs require children to travel to meal sites—a challenge in rural areas or for working families—Summer EBT gives parents the flexibility to purchase food directly, ensuring children have access to balanced meals at home throughout the summer.
As more states implement the Summer EBT program, its bipartisan support shows that practical solutions to hunger can unite us across political lines. This momentum shows that, when faced with the undeniable consequences of child hunger, the will to find solutions can transcend political boundaries.
