Summer is winding down and most kids in Oregon are back to school this week. But it’s not too late for families to get extra cash to help pay for groceries through a summer nutrition program.

The Oregon Department of Human Services is making a final push to enroll as many families with school-age children as possible in its Oregon Summer EBT program. The deadline to apply is coming up quickly on Sept. 3.

“This is a really amazing summer food program that helps Oregon shrink the hunger gap when children are on summer break,” said ODHS Self-Sufficiency Programs Director Claire Seguin. “A lot of those children don’t have the same access to healthy meals that they might have during the school year.”

The program gives eligible families $120 per child to help cover grocery expenses, primarily food. The money can be used at any grocery retailer or farmer’s market that accepts the Oregon Trail electronic benefits transfer card. Once the benefit is dispersed, families have about four months, or 122 days, to use the money before it expires.

Families that already participate in federal food benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, automatically received the extra money in May of this year. Children in foster care and certain Oregon Health Plan members also get the benefit automatically.

The state has already issued nearly $42 million to more than 374,000 children in Oregon this year alone. But state officials believe there could be hundreds more families with kids who could miss out.

“We really encourage everybody who thinks they might be eligible — who’s got a school-age child — to check,” Seguin said.

The main eligibility requirement for the program relates to a family’s income. The limit for the Summer EBT program is set at 185% of the federal poverty level. For example, a family household of four people making less than $59,000 a year, or about $4,900 a month, would likely qualify for the extra food assistance.

Seguin said families that participate in Head Start, National School Lunch or the School Breakfast programs may not have gotten the summer grocery benefit automatically. But many in this group could still qualify and are encouraged to apply.

“There are many more families out there who may be eligible for the $120 Summer EBT benefit,” Oregon Department of Education Director Charlene Williams said in a press release. The state education department works in partnership with human services staff to administer the program.

“This is more than a benefit. It’s a lifeline for many families,” Williams said.

The program is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is part of the agency’s larger suite of federal food assistance programs. Similar to SNAP, the summer program has no dollar cap on how much money states can give out.

“It’s not a block grant. It’s an entitlement. We can serve as many folks as we can serve,” Seguin said. “This is one of the reasons we’re pushing so hard on getting the word out.”

This is the second year Oregon has participated in the federal program. But with deep cuts to SNAP in the recently passed reconciliation bill, it’s unclear if the summer food benefit will continue beyond this year. Seguin said her office has not received any information about the program’s future.

Oregon families can apply for this year’s benefit in two ways:

• Online at sebt.oregon.gov.
• By phone at 833-ORE-SEBT (833-673-7328) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/02/oregon-families-summer-food-benefits-assistance-snap-ebt/