Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launches summer program to provide groceries for families

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A summer hunger-fighting program was launched in Arkansas on Monday.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that applications for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program have been opened. This new program provides grocery benefits of $120 per eligible school-aged child for groceries when school is not in session. Sanders had announced the state's participation in the program in January.

Officials said the program supplements the existing program that provides meals for children at sites in their communities. They added that most eligible families will get the benefits automatically, but some parents will need to apply.

A spokesperson for the governor said children are automatically eligible and don’t need to apply if their household participates in SNAP or TEA, or if they individually applied for and were approved for free meals through the National School Lunch Program./

Program representatives said the $120 benefit will be provided on pre-loaded EBT cards similar to the ones used for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as SNAP. These cards, which will be sent separately to each eligible child in a family, can be used by families to purchase groceries. Officials said the cards are expected to be mailed out by the beginning of July.

“No child in Arkansas should go hungry,” the governor said. “I’ve tasked my administration with tackling childhood food insecurity and was proud to sign our state up for the Summer EBT program, which fills critical gaps for households during the summer months.”

Sanders added that Arkansas Sen. John Boozman helped enact Summer EBT at the federal level.

Information on the program, including qualifications, may be seen at AR.gov/SummerEBT.

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