Thank you for helping us get the word out on Summer EBT!
No Kid Hungry is leading the way nationally in ensuring clear, family-centered information is available on Summer EBT. We’ve worked closely with stakeholders from USDA and state agencies, to families and school staff, in order to understand where and how to communicate the key information eligible families will need this summer.
No Kid Hungry developed this Summer EBT Retailer Toolkit for retailers who accept EBT, informed by our research and expertise in user-centered design. Your stores and employees are critical to a successful rollout of Summer EBT, as families receive and use this benefit for the first time. Clear messages and positive shopping experiences can ensure families are comfortable using their Summer EBT benefits in your stores.
The resources included here, for both corporate and store audiences, are designed to support a successful Summer EBT experience for your customers and store staff.
Why Summer EBT?
Summer EBT (or SUN Bucks) is a new grocery benefit to help families with school-aged children stretch their grocery budget during the summer. This summer, the program could reach nearly 21 million children with $2.5 billion in grocery benefits. While it is launching for the first time as a national program in 2024, Summer EBT is based on pilot projects that have operated since 2011. These projects decreased food insecurity and improved nutrition quality for households who received the benefit.
The goals of this toolkit are:
- Ensure that families who live in states that will be implementing Summer EBT in 2024 have clear information about the program.
- Provide your employees with practical information to help shoppers access and use this benefit.
- Ensure a smooth experience for all as Summer EBT rolls out.
No Kid Hungry is making sure families receive clear, consistent messaging from a variety of trusted sources, and clear information on Summer EBT in your stores is a key piece of this puzzle. We hope you will use the resources in this toolkit to educate and empower staff, create simple digital and in-store messaging, ensure customers’ comfort using the benefit while shopping, and work with others in your community to maximize the number of children who have access to this program.
How Summer EBT Will Work
Please share this information on how Summer EBT will work in Summer 2024 with training and development teams, government relations, and compliance and regulations teams. The information below can also be found as a separate, shareable document here.
Summer EBT (or SUN Bucks) will provide $120 in grocery benefits per eligible child each summer (amount varies in Alaska, Hawaii, and US territories). Generally speaking, eligible children include those who are enrolled in a program like SNAP or who would qualify for free or reduced-price meals at their school based on their income. Most children will receive Summer EBT automatically, and some will need to apply. Beyond this, some program details will vary across states, tribes, and territories (for brevity, we generally use “states” below). These details can help you anticipate when and how this new benefit will show up in your stores, and support your employees in helping kids and families get the food they need this summer.
Things to Know About Summer EBT
General
- Most but not all states WILL be participating this summer. Summer EBT is administered by states, territories and Tribal governments. States/territories/tribes must opt-in to participate. The full list of participating states, tribes and territories is available here, and is subject to change.
- Some key details will differ by state. The Key Program Information by State spreadsheet, described below, includes much of this state-specific information. These include: the name of the program (i.e. SUN Bucks or Summer EBT); how benefits are being distributed (i.e. on existing SNAP cards vs. new Summer EBT cards for all); which programs are being used to automatically qualify and enroll children, and when benefits will be issued.
- Families can receive Summer EBT regardless of their immigration status.
Benefit Issuance
- Timelines for benefit issuance will vary considerably in Summer 2024, the program’s first year. As states work to get this program off the ground, some are aiming to issue benefits in June or July, while in others benefits may be in hand at the end of summer. An initial planned issuance date is included in the Key Program Information by State spreadsheet, if available. (Timelines can be expected to vary within a narrower time frame in future summers, based on the “summer operational period” in the state.)
- Most families receiving Summer EBT will receive it automatically on a new or existing EBT card. The majority will not need to apply since they are eligible due to their participation in another program, such as SNAP or being approved for free/reduced-price school meals. This is different from programs like SNAP and WIC, for which all families must actively apply.
- Other families will need to apply for Summer EBT. Families who meet the income threshold and are not enrolled in these programs will need to apply for Summer EBT.
- Many families within a state will receive Summer EBT benefits at the same time. This is because many states will be issuing benefits to the large group of children who are automatically eligible around the same time, and generally in one lump sum. States will continue issuing benefits to much smaller groups who apply for Summer EBT through the summer, and in some cases, into the fall.
- Families may have questions about the benefits on their card, especially in states that are loading Summer EBT benefits onto existing SNAP EBT cards. Summer EBT benefits will be programmed to be spent first because they expire before SNAP benefits (122 days after issuance), and families with Summer EBT benefits on SNAP cards may have questions about a higher-than-expected balance.
- Families should save their cards. There’s a good chance that many states will reissue benefits on the same card in future summers, so they should save them just in case. States should have a process for replacing lost cards, if needed.
- Indian tribal organizations (ITOs) issuing Summer EBT will provide it as a WIC benefit. For Summer 2024, this applies only to the following tribes in Oklahoma: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and Seminole Nations.
Benefit Use
- Summer EBT benefits are used in a similar way to SNAP benefits and at all SNAP-authorized retailers. Benefits come on an EBT card, and customers can use their card to pay at self-checkout, for online purchases, and for purchases of groceries for delivery. Just like SNAP, Summer EBT benefits are for food items and cannot be used to pay for delivery or other fees.
- For some households, Summer EBT may be their first experience using an EBT card. A broader set of households is eligible for Summer EBT compared to SNAP. Store staff should anticipate questions from those unfamiliar with EBT card usage, especially in this first summer of program operation.
- Prepare for questions from online shoppers: Be prepared to address questions on online shopping options which have a limit on the number of EBT cards that can be stored in the online ordering system. Some states will be issuing new Summer EBT cards for all recipients, meaning that a customer may have a SNAP card AND a Summer EBT card, or multiple Summer EBT cards for multiple school-aged children within a family.
Key Program Information by State
While Summer EBT is a national program, it is implemented by states and therefore program information will vary by state. No Kid Hungry has organized a spreadsheet with key program details by state. This information should be used to guide decisions on store-related timing of Summer EBT communications, plan for Summer EBT rollout in different areas, and provide state-specific information for store staff (for example, in the Summer EBT Overview for Store Staff included below). Note that this information is subject to change, and No Kid Hungry will keep the spreadsheet updated throughout the summer with the most current information we have available.
Summer EBT Marketing & Messaging Resources
Please share this information with marketing and communications teams.
Summer EBT Overview for Store Staff
Please share this information with front-end staff including managers, cashiers, customer service, etc.
Thank you for helping to make Summer EBT a success!
Questions on the Summer EBT Retailer Toolkit? Please reach out to your No Kid Hungry contact, or you can reach us at innovation@strength.org.