Nearly 8,500 Springfield kids eligible for new food assistance program. What to know
A new federally-funded program granting food assistance to families with school children will have major local ramifications, District 186 School Superintendent Jennifer Gill says.
State and federal officials announced the approval of the state's Summer EBT program by the United States Department of Agriculture on May 15, now providing a one-time issuance of $120 per child benefit during the summer months. The program is described as the "first of its kind" in more than 50 years.
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Gill said during a press conference at Enos Elementary School that close to 8,500 children in the district will be eligible for the program. The eligibility requirements are the same program as those eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school, meaning they come from families earning 185% of the federal poverty level.
Distribution locally will be done at 20 schools throughout the district, held simultaneously with its summer learning programs.
"Not only will they continue learning, but they will be fed both breakfast and lunch each day," said Gill. "That's a huge burden lifted off our families."
Statewide, more than 1 million children are expected to be eligible to the program, not requiring citizenship. Gov. JB Pritzker said it will help address food insecurity and in-turn help with students' "academic performance, social function, and mental and physical health.”
Children will be automatically enrolled if they have been enrolled on or after July 1, 2023, in either the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP; income-eligible Medicaid; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF; or the state’s Youth in Care or foster care system.
Families who do not take part in those programs but who may qualify under the income guidelines can also apply through a school that takes part in the National School Lunch Program.
Qualifying families will receive the money in the form of an electronic benefits transfer, or EBT card, known in Illinois as a Link card. For families already enrolled in the SNAP or TANF programs, the $120 per-child benefit 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, the 2024 benefits will be distributed in late summer.
Peter Hancock of Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, [email protected], twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Close to 8,500 Springfield kids eligible for new food assistance program
