Governor Sanders, DHS, ADE announce launch of summer EBT program applications

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — On April 22, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) announced the state of Arkansas has formally launched the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program applications.

It is a new grocery benefits program that provides families $120 for each eligible school-aged child to buy groceries when school is out.

Governor Sanders announced Arkansas' participation in this program on January 2nd, 2024 and said she is proud that Arkansas is getting in on the benefits program.

“No child in Arkansas should go hungry," Sanders said. "I’ve tasked my administration with tackling childhood food insecurity and was proud to sign our state up for the Summer EBT program, which fills critical gaps for households during the summer months. As this program takes off, I’ll continue to work with stakeholders like Senator John Boozman, who helped enact Summer EBT on the federal level, to give our children access to the meals they need.”

Kristi Putnam, Secretary of the DHS, said the program is of vital importance, especially considering many students lose access to school lunches during the summer.

“Summer is a time when many children lose access to the free and reduced-price meals they get at school, and when households might need a little extra help putting meals on the table,” Putnam said. "It’s important that families are able to feed children healthy and nutritious meals even when schools are out of session, and we are proud to make this program available to help ensure that no child goes hungry this summer.”

Many eligible families will receive these benefits automatically, while some parents will need to apply.

Children are automatically eligible and don't need to apply if their household participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) program, or if they individually applied for and were approved for free meals through the National School Lunch Program.

The $120 benefit will be provided on pre-loaded EBT cards similar to the ones used for SNAP. The cards will be mailed out in July and they will be sent separately to each eligible child in a family which can be used by their families to purchase groceries.