Last month, we asked you to lend your voice to ensure the state of Florida accepted federal funds for the Summer EBT program — and you responded! 194 Second Harvest advocates took action and told Governor Ron DeSantis that it wasn’t too late for Florida to accept this much needed assistance to eligible children and their families.
Florida was poised to leave $820 million on the table for Summer EBT, a program designed to assist children in families during Summer who miss out on free or reduced school meals at school. It’s a simple and efficient way to ensure that children do not experience hunger while school is out. This program provides families with an estimated $375 per child, or approximately $7 per day per child, to ensure families have the means to provide nutritious foods to their child.
These funds will assist over 2 million of Florida’s children with nutritious meals they need to grow and thrive. Even through the new school year has started, Florida had no deadline to accept these funds. Thousands of families are still playing catch up from pandemic-related financial stress, including basic costs like food, rent and utilities. Thankfully, Summer EBT can be provided retroactively – at no cost to Floridians.
On behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank, and eligible families with children — thank you!
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