44 States, U.S. Territories, Tribes Will Launch the USDA Permanent Summer EBT Program in 2024
Murray’s legislation established the program and was passed into law as a part of the December 2022 government spending package
Senator Murray: “I have been working towards this for so long and it’s great to see my legislation finally enacted to help keep our kids fed in the summer.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that Washington state is one of 35 states participating in the launch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s new, permanent summer grocery benefits program for children, known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), in Summer 2024. The program is based off Murray’s longstanding Stop Child Summer Hunger Act that she introduced every Congress since 2014; in December 2022, Senator Murray got a version of her permanent Summer EBT legislation passed into law.
USDA estimates that in Washington state, this program will benefit an estimated 507,000 children with nearly $61 million in new summer EBT benefits. Through this new program, states will provide families with $120 per eligible child for the summer to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets or other authorized retailers—similar to how SNAP benefits are used.
“No child should ever go hungry in the United States—plain and simple,” said Senator Murray. “We have a serious responsibility to our nation’s children to keep them well-fed and set up for success—I have been working towards this for so long and it’s great to see my legislation finally enacted to help keep our kids fed in the summer. There’s a lot more work we need to do, but this is a meaningful step towards ending child hunger in America. As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I am going to keep up the fight so that every child across the country never has to worry where their next meal is coming from.”
Rigorous evaluations of a multi-year demonstration project showed that providing Summer EBT reduced child hunger and improved diet quality. Summer grocery benefits decreased the number of kids with very low food security by about one-third and supported healthier diets featuring more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
In December 2022, the government spending package Murray helped author and negotiate established for the first time ever a permanent Summer EBT program for child nutrition—a longtime priority of Senator Murray, who first spearheaded this effort. The bill also established flexibility for alternative meal delivery for rural areas such as grab and go, mobile delivery, backpack programs, or shipping meals.
Senator Murray has been a leading advocate for kids and families in the United States Senate, especially during the pandemic, carrying legislation to stop child hunger every Congress since 2014 with the introduction of her Stop Child Summer Hunger Act. Having relied on food stamps for a brief time during her childhood, Senator Murray knows firsthand the difference a helping hand can make in the lives of children. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray is working around the clock to protect and expand vital nutrition assistance and child nutrition programs.
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