Many families rely on school meals during the academic year to provide nutritious and delicious breakfast and lunch. This allows families to use their finite financial resources for other basic needs and gives them some breathing room in their monthly budgets. Unfortunately, every summer these meals are no longer available and many families have to quickly figure out how they are going to make up the difference. Thankfully, there are now options for families to provide meals for their children during the summer! Congress approved an expansion of summer feeding options including Summer EBT and Rural Non-congregate meal sites. These new offerings allow families some flexibility and dignity as they provide for their children during the summer months. Today, we explore these new options on the podcasts with our guests, Jolara O’Harra and Chrissy Musser. Thank you both for sharing your expertise and experiences with the listeners!  

References: 

Learn more about Summer EBT, including eligibility information, outreach materials and important FAQs at https://ohiosummerebt.org/.  

Find both traditional and non-congregate summer meal sites in your area here. Remember that you can utilize both summer meals sites and Summer EBT! 

Learn more about the Community Backyards program and how you can use the program to support your own garden.  

Learn more about Produce Perks and how you can double both SNAP benefits and Summer EBT benefits for your family.  

Find your local foodbank to find help, volunteer, and donate here.      

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Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.