For 180 days each school year, millions of children in New York rely on free cafeteria meals. When the final bell rings in June, those meals disappear. No alarm sounds. No other program automatically steps in. The gap opens every summer like clockwork.
On July 1, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $189 million in food benefits had already reached nearly 1.6 million low-income children across the state, with roughly $240 million projected to help around 2 million kids before fall. The money comes through Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, or Summer EBT, a program that loads prepaid cards families can use at grocery stores and farmers markets just like regular SNAP benefits.
Each eligible child receives $120. Families already enrolled in SNAP, Public Assistance, or Medicaid get the card automatically with no extra paperwork. Those who do not receive those benefits have until September 8, 2026 to apply online at ny.gov/SummerEBT. The $120 expires 122 days after the card arrives, so officials urge families to use it soon after receiving it.
The need is enormous. Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, pointed out that children who depend on school meals during the year simply do not receive government-funded food at summer meals sites when schools close. Richard R. Buery Jr., CEO of Robin Hood, described summer as a time when school meals vanish and family budgets grow dangerously thin. Both were describing the same structural problem: it shows up on the same date every year.
The USDA studied the impact and found that summer food benefits cut the share of children experiencing very low food security by one-third. That is a striking number for something that rarely makes headlines.
The money also moves through local economies. Rachel Sabella, New York director of No Kid Hungry, noted that the spending strengthens neighborhoods by flowing into local grocery stores, farmers markets, and small businesses. Assemblymember Maritza Davila, chair of the Assembly Social Services Committee, said families in her district were already struggling with rising costs for housing, medical care, and food, with summer adding even more weight to that burden.
The state push comes as federal nutrition programs face cuts backed by Congressional Republicans. Senator Charles Schumer called federal funding for hungry children more critical than ever, citing reductions he said are already taking effect. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who worked to make the federal Summer EBT program permanent, described New York's expanded effort as a direct response to that federal retreat.
New York's FY27 budget went beyond the EBT rollout. It included $51 million for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, $15 million to expand the program to regional food banks and pantries, $55 million for the Nourish NY program, and $395 million to continue Universal Free School Meals through fiscal year 2027. Kate Breslin of the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy cited a Federal Reserve Bank of New York finding of a remarkable increase in food insecurity, particularly among households with young children.
For families still waiting on their cards, the deadline to apply is September 8, 2026.