by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current
Thousands of children in Nevada will start receiving federal nutrition benefits this month designed to cover school meals missed during summer vacation.
About 280,000 children in Nevada will automatically receive a one-time payment of $120 starting May 17, thanks to a federal nutrition program known as the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (S-EBT).
Congress passed bipartisan legislation in late 2022, making S-EBT permanent for states that opt-in, including Nevada. The federal program now permanently provides families with $40 each summer month per eligible child to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets, or other authorized retailers.
Last year, the S-EBT program delivered about $37 million in benefits to nearly 312,000 children, with about 80% of those benefits being fully utilized.
In order to automatically qualify for the S-EBT program, a child must attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program and be eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
Children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals due to their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) will also automatically qualify for S-EBT, even if they do not attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program.
Children on Medicaid in a household with an income at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level also automatically qualify for S-EBT, regardless of which school they attend.
Children participating in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) can also be automatically eligible for the S-EBT program.
Families can check to see if their child was automatically enrolled into the program through an online portal at Access Nevada starting May 17.
Not automatically eligible? Apply anyway.
Households that are not automatically eligible are still encouraged to apply for the S-EBT program starting May 17, when applications open on the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services website.
While most Nevada Summer EBT eligible families will automatically receive the Summer EBT benefit, there is a group of income eligible families that must submit an application.
Last year, a total of 6,347 families not automatically eligible for S-EBT applied for the program, according to the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services. Of those applicants, 2,690 were ultimately determined eligible for the summer food benefits, or about 42% of all applicants.
David Rubel, a New York City-based education consultant, said even more families were likely eligible last year, but never applied. He found that only 9% of potentially eligible households in Nevada submitted applications, leaving about $8.4 million in benefits on the table.
“Only a handful of Summer EBT eligible families submitted applications last year,” Rubel said. “Using a formula from USDA, the potential number was 70,400 families.”
However, those funds are now lost. S-EBT is a one-time benefit tied to a specific school year and cannot be retroactively applied for or claimed for previous years, according to the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.
“The Summer EBT money won’t get distributed and spent this summer unless families know about it,” Rubel said.
Nevada wasn’t the only state to lose out on benefits. Rubel looked at 14 states’ potential number of applications vs. applications submitted and found that the percentage of applications submitted in every state was less than 20% of potential applicants.
How benefits will be distributed
Eligible households that participate in SNAP or TANF will automatically receive their S-EBT benefits starting May 17 on existing EBT cards if the guardian listed by the Nevada Department of Education in the Summer 2024 program file remains the same.
Families that qualified last year can also receive benefits on their existing S-EBT cards issued last year, the program’s inaugural year. Families that need a replacement card can request a replacement S-EBT card from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Division of Welfare and Supportive Services. Replacement S-EBT cards may take 2-3 weeks to receive.
Children receiving benefits for the first time will be mailed a S-EBT card to the address of the guardian listed in the school’s registration system for the 2024-2025 school year. Mailed S-EBT cards may take 2-3 weeks to receive.
S-EBT benefits expire 122 days after they become available. If the benefits are not used within 122 days, they will be removed from the card and cannot be replaced, per federal regulations.
For additional details on eligibility, benefit usage timelines, or how to apply, families are encouraged to visit the DWSS Summer EBT webpage and review the program FAQs.