By Patricia Jones, Alliance Community Task Force: Creating Opportunity
DHHS, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, announced last week that they are ready to roll with the Summer EBT Program for children. The Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (EBT) was formerly called food stamps. The US Department of Agriculture will provide each eligible school-age child with EBT cards valued at $40 for each of the summer months of June, July, and August.
This means that eligible families will receive $120 per child for the summer period. DHHS estimates that 175,000 students, or 80,000 households, will be eligible to receive Summer EBT benefits in Nebraska.
Alliance Public Schools offers the summer food service program for ages 1 through 18 until the end of June. Breakfast, 7:30-8:00, and lunch, 11:30-12:00, are served at Grandview and the Middle School. Meals must be eaten on site. No applications, income requirements, or paperwork are required. Using this service through the school does not affect whether a child can receive Summer EBT benefits.
To determine whether your household is eligible to receive Summer EBT benefits, look at the following:
1. School-age children who participate in one of the following public assistance programs:
SNAP, ADC, FDPIR, or Children on Medicaid with household income under 185% of the federal poverty level.
2. School-age children who are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) based on one of these statuses: participation in Head Start, homeless, foster child, migrant, or runaway.
3. School-age children who have been approved for free or reduced-priced meals through filling out a school meals application.
4. School-age children enrolled in a school participating in NSLP who have not signed up for that benefit in the past, but will be determined to be eligible through the Summer EBT application which will be available after June 1.
If a child meets the first three above criteria, they do not need to complete a Summer EBT application. Their benefits will be issued to a Summer EBT card and mailed to the address provided by the student’s school or maintained by DHHS for public assistance participants. It is a good idea to verify the address on file with the school, especially if you have moved or if someone else has custody over the summer months.
Home-schooled children do not qualify for Summer EBT benefits (they are not participating in an NSLP school) unless they receive public assistance benefits.
Along with issuing the Summer EBT cards, DHHS will send out information during the summer on nutritious foods parents can purchase for their children. DHHS will reach out via text messages to help identify additional needs, and then they will follow up to determine what resources would benefit the family.
How will a household use the Summer EBT benefits? They will receive a card in the mail and will need to call the number on the back to activate it. When asked for the date of birth, use the 8- digit date of birth for the oldest eligible child in the household. Enter your zip code. Then choose a 4-digit PIN.
Once received and activated, a Summer EBT card can be used like any other EBT card to purchase eligible food at approved SNAP retailers like grocery stores.
If you need more information, please visit https://dhhs.ne.gov/SummerEBT.