Summer EBT program to benefit food-insecure families

A woman in.a mask hands a bag of a lunch to a woman with a young child. — During summer, Chicago Public Schools offers free breakfast and lunch as part of the LunchStop program. In addition to free meal programs this summer, food-insecure families can enroll in a federal Summer EBT program.

- Email
- Facebook
- Twitter
- SHARE
SHARE
- Print

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

New Summer EBT program to benefit food-insecure families

A new summer program will provide eligible families a one-time credit of $120 per child to purchase groceries.

During summer, Chicago Public Schools offers free breakfast and lunch as part of the LunchStop program. In addition to free meal programs this summer, food-insecure families can enroll in a federal Summer EBT program.

Brian Rich/Chicago Sun-Times

By Max Lubbers

Every school day, thousands of kids in Illinois shuffle into cafeterias for free breakfast and lunch. But when school lets out for the summer break, they can lose access to those consistent meals.

Enter: Summer EBT. It’s a new federal benefits program that’s expected to help alleviate that issue with a one-time credit of $120 per child to purchase groceries during the summer.

Reset digs into why it’s a big deal — and what other resources families can use this summer.

Families interested in enrolling can find more information here. They can also ask their schools whether they have an application on file for the National School Lunch Program, which the state will use to automatically enroll them in the program.

GUESTS: Man-Yee Lee, director of communications for the Greater Chicago Food Depository

Carmen Moorer, youth services manager for the Chicago Heights Public Library