Disability Rights Florida recently signed onto a letter urging the state of Florida to participate in the 2025 Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program (Summer EBT) to help fight food insecurity among low-income children.
"Summer EBT is a food assistance program established for children by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Summer EBT provides each eligible child approximately $40 per month in grocery assistance during the summer, when school is out, to supplement summer meal programs. To preserve the option to participate in Summer EBT for 2025, Florida must notify and submit supporting documentation to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) by August 15, 2024.
"Many children in low-income families have access to free or reduced-price lunches during the school year through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). However, during the summer, when school is out, those children no longer receive meals through that program. Summer EBT was created to ensure that families continue to have resources to keep these children from going hungry during the summer. Summer EBT was specifically designed to work in tandem with other food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Summer BreakSpot, to put food on the plates of children during the summer."
Disability Rights Florida proudly signs onto this letter. People and families with disabilities experience higher rates of poverty compared to their non-disabled counterparts and are therefore more likely to benefit from these programs. EBT would be a large stress reliever for Floridians with disabilities, and we implore that Governor DeSantis and DCF Secretary Harris do all that he can do support that state's food insecure kids.