Summer EBT in Oklahoma

Summer EBT in Oklahoma

What is Summer EBT?

Summer EBT is a new federal program that provides grocery-buying benefits to low-income families with school-aged children when schools are closed for the summer. Summer EBT was established by Congress in December of 2022 and is based on USDA’s Summer EBT for Children Demonstration projects and Pandemic EBT (P-EBT), which have been proven to reduce child hunger and improve diet quality.

Summer EBT benefits come in the form of pre-loaded cards that families can use to purchase groceries. Beginning in summer 2024, families can receive $40 per eligible child per month in participating states and Tribal areas. These benefits work together with other available USDA nutrition assistance programs, such as Summer Meals sites, SNAP, and WIC, to help ensure children have consistent access to critical nutrition when school is out.

What is Oklahoma’s status?

States had until January 1, 2024, to notify USDA of their intent to participate in the program this summer (a process referred to as “opt in” in this document). Oklahoma did not opt in and last week the Governor expressed that Oklahoma will not operate the Summer EBT program this summer. Not opting into the program in 2024 does not prevent the state from participating in future years.

The Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation, Muscogee Nation, Osage Nation, and the Seminole Nation will participate in Summer EBT in 2024. Their programs will include both Tribal members and non-members living in their service areas.

Will this affect Summer Meals programs?

It is important to note that traditional and non-congregate summer meal programs are not impacted by this decision and will continue to operate across the state of Oklahoma this summer.

What is the difference between Summer EBT and P-EBT?

The Summer EBT and Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) programs are very similar, but there are a couple of key differences:

• Summer EBT benefits are $40 per summer month per eligible child. While 2023 Summer P-EBT benefits were at the same $40/month rate, 2020–2022 P-EBT amounts were much higher.
• In P-EBT, students in CEP districts all received benefits without additional action required. In Summer EBT, students must be directly certified for school meals through programs like SNAP or Medicaid, have been certified for free or reduced-price school meals in the preceding school year through the FRPL application, or they must fill out an application through the administering agency (state or Tribe) and found to be eligible.

What is Hunger Free Oklahoma doing?

To address this situation, Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) has immediate and long-term goals:

• HFO’s immediate goals:
  • We will maximize the number of Oklahoma children participating in 2024 Summer EBT by supporting the Tribes to serve as many children as is feasible. We are deeply appreciative of their leadership and willingness to engage on this issue.
  • We will work to maximize non-congregate summer meal options across the state in summer 2024 through advocacy and technical assistance.
• HFO’s long-term goal: We will advocate for Statewide Summer EBT coverage in 2025 and beyond.
• HFO has been invited to participate in several media coverage opportunities about this topic, including:
  • Chris Bernard, President/CEO, wrote an OpEd for The Oklahoman.
  • The Washington Post interviewed Chris for a front-page story.
  • The New York Times interviewed Chris for their publication.

What other food resources are available in Oklahoma?

For more information on other food resources, please visit our Food Resource Tool online here.

Where can I find more information on the Summer EBT program?

• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website
• Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) website

What are the stats on hunger in Oklahoma?

• Oklahoma has about 403,000 children eligible to receive the Summer EBT benefit in summer 2024. This would result in about $48,360,000 in benefits being distributed to struggling families this summer.
• More than one in five (208,110) Oklahoma children do not get the food they need.
• 15.6% of Oklahoma households are food insecure.
• 4.3 out of every 100 eligible children in Oklahoma participated in Summer Meals programs in 2023.
• Last summer, Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) served 400,000 kids and brought over $15M into the state.

How can I help?

Robust summer meal sites and non-congregate programs will be critical this summer. Reach out to HFO by completing this form if your organization would like to explore serving in one of these two capacities.