The number of Arkansas students participating in one of three summer nutrition programs offered in the state has already eclipsed last year’s count, officials said Thursday at a food distribution event in Sherwood.The newest program, Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children, or Summer EBT, was created through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and modeled on a similar initiative created during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Each child enrolled in the Summer EBT program receives a debit card loaded with $120 for purchasing fresh meat, fruit and vegetables, dairy products, breads, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.Arkansas, which has one of the nation’s worst rates of food insecurity, opted into the program last year even as many other Republican-led states did not- a trend that has continued in the second year of the program with 13 states choosing not to participate. Oklahoma has opted out of the program for the second straight year, but some tribal nations within the state are participating.This year, 325,000 students have been enrolled into Arkansas’ Summer EBT program so far, said Mary Franklin, director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Division of County Operations. DHS spokesperson Gavin Lesnick said the program, which “makes a lot of sense” for Arkansas, served 293,000 students in 2024.
The department is accepting applications until Aug. 25.
Of the 325,000 current participants, the vast majority were automatically enrolled in the program because they met certain criteria, such as Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment or receiving free or reduced meals at their school. Only 7,000 participants were not automatically enrolled this year, Lesnick said.
“A lot of those children just automatically don’t have to do anything,” Lesnick said, “but if you aren’t in one of those buckets, you have to fill out an application.”
The one exception, he said, is for those at schools that automatically give all students free or reduced lunch. Those students still have to apply to receive the Summer EBT benefit. Lesnick and Franklin both emphasized that people should apply for the program even if they are unsure if they qualify.
“We’re thrilled (the Summer EBT program) is going well,” Lesnick said.
Patty Barker, the campaign director for No Kid Hungry Arkansas, which is part of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said the rollout of the Summer EBT program has gone much smoother in its second year. State officials highlighted how benefits for students who were enrolled in the program last year were loaded onto the cards they were given last summer instead of new ones.
Barker said an enhanced focus on messaging, making sure parents and students knew about the program, and an earlier start date, have made the summer nutrition program more successful this year. The alliance worked with the state to get the word out, Barker said.
“The federal program was new last summer, and just the process, it didn’t get started until midsummer,” Barker said. “So this year we were ahead of the game and able to start announcing that the program was going to be offered in the spring before kids go home from school; getting schools on board to be able to make all the families aware. So that was a huge bonus.”
The Summer EBT program is administered by DHS with help from the state Department of Education. Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said in an interview that his department coordinates with DHS to help it determine which students should be automatically enrolled in the program.
“We work with (DHS) to help find students and families that qualify, work with school districts that are willing to support the program. We have a Food and Nutrition Division that helps share the word, communicate, collaborate with a lot of people who may not know that they’re eligible for extra support through the summer,” Oliva said.
Oliva, Franklin and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders all emphasized the importance of addressing child hunger before assisting with a drive-up meal distribution outside Cato Elementary Thursday morning. Sanders specifically touted what she described as bipartisan efforts to provide free breakfast to every student in Arkansas regardless of their means, which she named as one of her biggest legislative priorities for the 2025 session.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges we have in our state,” Sanders said of the state’s food insecurity issue, “but it’s something that we are not going to ignore and refuse to take on and tackle. I know that we can move Arkansas from being at the bottom of this list by utilizing programs like this.”
The state offers other nutrition programs to feed students during the summer months. The two other initiatives, both offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the state education department, are the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The meal distribution that Sanders and other officials participated in were part of the SFSP, which provides meals and snacks to students at approved sites such as schools.
Franklin said that the programs were not either-or-students could participate in more than one at the same time.
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