SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The state is launching a new program to provide summer food assistance to families with children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
Gov. JB Pritzker joined other state officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday to announce that Illinois will participate in the federally funded summer EBT program. The program provides eligible families with a one-time benefit of $120 per child to use toward purchases. Groceries during the summer.
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Speaking at a mostly low-income elementary school in Springfield, Pritzker said it’s important to have enough food for children year-round.
“Food insecurity is absolutely detrimental to a child’s development,” he says. It affects academic performance, social functioning, and physical and mental health. ”
Pritzker noted that the program began as a “stopgap measure” to address the needs of low-income families with school-age children when the coronavirus pandemic forced many schools to close.
The program has proven so successful in reducing child hunger that Congress took action to make it permanent in 2022. This summer will be the first under the new permanent authority.
“Summer EBT is evidence-based, meaning we know it works,” said Stacey Dean, deputy assistant secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services at the Department of Agriculture, which funds the program. ” he said. “This program has been tested, piloted, and rigorously researched to reduce hunger and increase nutritious food intake in participating children.”
The program also targets children who receive free or reduced-price meals at school. That means they must come from a household with an income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level ($47,767 for a family of three and $57,720 for a family of four).
According to the most recent state report card from the Illinois State Board of Education, 49 percent of all students in Illinois public schools meet that standard.
There are no citizenship requirements for this program, and Summer EBT is not considered under U.S. immigration law public charge rules.
If your child is enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP after July 1, 2023, your child will be automatically enrolled. Income Qualified Medicaid. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. or state youth-in-care or foster care programs.
Families who do not participate in these programs but qualify under income guidelines may also apply through schools participating in the National School Lunch Program.
Eligible families receive money in the form of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT card), known in Illinois as a Link Card. For families already enrolled in the SNAP or TANF programs, a $120 benefit per child will be loaded onto their existing Link card. Others will receive a new card in the mail from the Illinois Department of Human Services.
According to the state’s summer EBT website, 2024 benefits are expected to be distributed in late summer.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and television stations throughout the state. It is primarily funded by the Illinois Publishing Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, with generous gifts from the Illinois Broadcasting Corporation and the Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
