Food program won’t benefit eligible Arkansas children until midsummer

In participating states, low-income families will receive $40 each month for each eligible school-aged child, up to $120, to buy groceries, beginning in the summer of 2024. Shown is a sign at a grocery store noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards, on Dec. 4, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By July 10, most children in Arkansas will be well into their second month of summer break with five weeks of sunny, schoolless days under their belts, but some children will have spent those weeks without a reliable source of food.

Arkansas has one of the highest food insecurity rates in the nation and is one of only a few southern states that opted into a new summer food aid program , but the state Department of Human Services won’t get cards to participants until the second week of July.

Three dozen states are participating in a new federal food assistance program called the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer , or Summer EBT. The program is modeled off a similar service implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Arkansas Department of Human Services is administering the cards, and spokesperson Gavin Lesnick said there have not been any delays in the distribution plan. The July 10 date “reflects the time it takes to stand up a new program, to collect the data on eligible students, and to produce and distribute the cards,” he said.

The day students will receive their cards varies state to state. For example, children in Tennessee can expect their card within 15 days of an approved application submitted after May 31. In Kansas, eligible children aren’t expected to get their cards until late July.

Students who qualify for the program will receive $120 on a pre-loaded card to use for groceries, similar to what’s used for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Multiple children in one family can receive a card, though they each have to apply on their own basis.

The card can be used to buy fruits, vegetables, dairy products and grains at participating grocery stores and farmers market booths.

More than 250,000 students in Arkansas were automatically eligible for the new program because they qualified for SNAP or the free- and reduced-lunch program. DHS had received an additional 2,320 applicants as of June 19, Lesnick said.

U.S. citizenship is not a requirement to receive the federal assistance. The benefits will also not affect a family’s ability to remain in the country, get or keep permanent legal resident status, or stop the process of becoming a citizen.

Arkansas opts into new federal food assistance program for children during summer break

The July 10 issuance date in Arkansas was “a concern that couldn’t be helped,” said Patty Barker, a staff member of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and the No Kid Hungry Arkansas campaign director.

With kids at home during the summer, families can see an increase in their grocery bills as “another pull on their monthly budget,” Barker said.

The Summer EBT program is intended to be used in tandem with other assistance programs including summer meal sites, SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Arkansas participates in other summer meal programs, and residents can find a participating location by texting “Summer Meals” to 97779 or by calling 1-866-348-6479.

Lesnick said he anticipates the state to continue the Summer EBT program next year, though a final decision has not yet been made. Barker said she hopes to see the issuance date get closer to the end of the school year if the program continues.

Applications for Summer EBT will remain open until Aug. 26 and benefits last for 122 days after issuance. The latest benefits will be issued in Arkansas on Sept. 30.

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