SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Food insecurity does not stop when school is out. At the end of 2023, the USDA reported food insecurity in New Jersey increased from 7.4% to 8.8%.
As such, the Garden State is kicking off a new program next month for children and families enrolled in free or reduced-price school meal programs. The Summer EBT program will give families electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards loaded with $120 per child to help them purchase groceries.
“The card will work anywhere that EBT cards are accepted,” said Mark Dinglasan, director of the state’s Office of the Food Security Advocate. “Anywhere a parent is able to use their SNAP EBT card, they'll be able to use the Summer EBT card.”
It’s all part of a national program in which $40 is added to eligible families’ EBT cards each month in the summer. New Jersey is providing the full benefit upfront.
Dinglasan added that there is no deadline to apply for school meals.
“Throughout the entire summer operational period, which goes until the middle of August, parents can submit that school meal application to their school,” he said, “and we will be doing data uploads for new students that we didn’t have before.”
For more information, visit nj.gov/summerebt.