Gov. Hochul announces $200 million in food assistance for millions of kids across state

ByEyewitness News

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Gov. Hochul announces $200M in food assistance for kids across state

The summer EBT program has issued nearly $200 million in food assistance for New Yorkers.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced the state has issued nearly $200 million in food assistance to more than 1.5 million low-income children.

The funds provided is part of the state's new Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program.

"Having access to healthy, nutritious food is essential for children's health and well-being," Hochul said. "As New York continues putting money back in the pockets of working families, we've already begun sending food assistance to more than 1.5 million kids - and we're going to keep delivering these benefits to more families in need."

As part of the assistance, the state is sending $120 per child to eligible families to help pay for healthy meals.

Hochul said the state expects two million children to qualify for the assistance.

"No child should ever go hungry, which is why I fought to secure federal funding for the Summer EBT program," added Sen. Chuck Schumer. "Summer is often the time of year when food insecurity is highest for children and this assistance for families comes just in the nick of time for New Yorkers."

Eligible children will be receiving EBT food benefits on an EBT card that their families can use equivalent to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Some eligible families have already begun to receive this assistance and the benefits will continue to be sent in the coming weeks before school begins.

The deadline for children and families to apply is Sep. 3.

Those who want to learn more about eligibility can click here.