ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Making sure children are fed continues to be of utmost importance and recently, some action was taken to help with just that.
The Kansas Department for Children and Families announced it will be extending the application deadline for the 2024 Summer EBT program, a new federal program designed to help eligible families offset some of the costs of buying food for their school-aged children during the summer.
“The program provides families a one-time installment of $120 per each eligible school-aged child to buy groceries over the summer. Applications will be accepted through the DCF online self-service portal, dcfapp.kees.ks.gov, until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15,” a release from the State of Kansas noted. “Families will need to use their existing account through the DCF self-service portal or create an account to apply.”
Children may be eligible for the program if the child attended a Kansas school offering the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Program, and the household income met the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals at any point during the 2023-24 school year. or the school-aged child (7-17 years old) received food assistance,
“While Summer EBT is intended to help offset the cost of food during summer break when kids don’t have access to the free or reduced-price meals they get at school, even with children already back in class the program can still provide families with a little extra help in putting food on their tables,” DCF Secretary Laura Howard noted in the State of Kansas release. “We hope that by extending the application deadline, more families with eligible children will have the opportunity to apply for this year’s Summer EBT benefit.”
Families with children who did not receive the Summer EBT benefit by the end of July 2024 should apply through the online self-service portal, dcfapp.kees.ks.gov. The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Oct. 15.
Learn more about the Summer EBT program at dcf.ks.gov.
