Millions of students may not receive the food assistance they need this summer.

Summer has long been recognized as a period of heightened food hardship for families with children who receive free or reduced-priced meals during the school year. Lawmakers acknowledged this by including in the Build Back Better (BBB) framework a summer electronic benefits transfer (Summer EBT) program that would provide funds to families with eligible children for the 2023 and 2024 summers, though passage of the bill looks increasingly unlikely. But even quick passage would not deliver a program for the summer of 2022. States have the option to provide summer 2022 Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) benefits through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a program that provides emergency funds to families with children that would have received free or reduced-priced meals if not for school closures; however, states are required to have a school year plan in place before even considering providing summer benefits to students, and so far only 12 school year plans have been approved for 2021–22. As a result, there is a risk that millions of students may not receive food assistance this summer.

Insufficient lead time has plagued the P-EBT program since its inception, with benefits typically distributed retrospectively and often long after the initial need for support. Over the past two summers, families did not receive benefits until the end of summer or beginning of fall, and in at least one case, a state has yet to issue last summer’s benefits. Longer lead times allow states to plan for more effective implementation, but if the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture does not simplify school year plan submission and put forth timely summer plan guidance, states cannot begin to consider providing summer benefits.

Almost 30 million students receive free and reduced-price meals during the school year but have historically lacked food resources (PDF) when school is out for the summer. Yet, summer meal programs developed to address this need have not become standard practice across the US.

What states need so students don’t experience a gap in food benefits

  1. Simplification: States would be more likely to provide summer benefits if plan requirements for the current school year were simplified.
  2. Timeliness: An expedited guidance and approval process from FNS is the only way students can efficiently receive summer assistance.
  3. Advocate support: States would benefit from increased anti-hunger awareness, support, and mobilization from those interested in bringing more attention to the coverage gap children will experience this summer.

Read the full article about summer food assistance programs for students by Emily Gutierrez and Poonam Gupta at Urban Institute.