There are a lot of low-income people in Oregon who are not spending their food money this summer.
Monday, the Department of Human Services said that an extra 320,000 children’s families have been given food help for the summer. However, another 30,000 children’s families who qualify need to apply.
A one-time payment of $120 is given to each child through the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children, or Summer EBT. This is meant to help low-income families cover food costs during the three months of summer when their kids are not in school and can’t get free meals. The payment is on top of other help, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The federal government pays for the whole summer program, which gives out about $35 million in help every year.
Iván Hernández, a spokesman for the Oregon Food Bank, said that the program cut kid hunger by one-third in a test run in Oregon.
Hernández said, “Part of the reason this works so well is that it gives families extra money to buy foods of their choice from stores like grocery stores or farmers’ markets. That way, kids won’t have to go to summer meal sites that might not meet their dietary needs or preferences or be culturally appropriate.”
This spring, the Oregon Food Bank said that one in five children in the state are hungry. However, Feeding America says that number is one in six.
The government of Oregon applied for the program in January, and this spring, the Legislature decided to pay half of the program’s administrative costs, which will come to about $13 million over two years.
Families that are already on TANF, SNAP, the Oregon Health Plan, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) got $120 earlier this month. This is also true for these other kids:
- Kids who are in foster care.
- Children who go to a school that is part of the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program and whose families make less than $3,152 a month for two people, $3,981 a month for three people, $4,810 a month for four people, or $5,640 a month for five people.
- Are signed up for programs for migrants.
- Lack of a home.
- Go to Head Start.
Take part in projects that give out food on Native American reservations.
By the end of this month, the Department of Human Services will have sent letters to families who qualified. The payments are being added to SNAP cards or, in some cases, bank cards with the money on them are being mailed to families.
The immigration situation of a child or family is not asked for on the application or to decide eligibility. DHS said that being in the program does not affect a child’s immigration status, and the so-called “public charge rule” does not apply. Families that don’t have enough money can be turned down for visas or legal status because of this rule.
People in families can check their EBT cards to see if they get the benefits.
The last day to apply is September 2.