The households of 36,000 Vermont school children this summer have received $120/month in electronic benefit payments for groceries, the Journal-Opinion reports.
As of September 1, Vermont had already issued $4.3 million in SEBT benefits to nearly 36,000 school-aged children in over 21,000 households since mid-July. These families were identified as eligible benefit recipients because they already receive Medicaid with a qualifying income, 3SquaresVT, or ReachUp benefits.
Households were notified of their eligibility in early July and all benefits were available on their EBT cards by July 31.
The program is new to Vermont this year. Vermont’s Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SEBT) program online application at summerebt.vermont.gov will close on Sept. 4. The program helps feed eligible school-aged children during the summer vacation months by providing a $120 per child benefit to purchase groceries.
Many families automatically qualify for the federally-funded program. The scope of eligible purchases is the same as USDA ‘food stamps’ or EBTs, including no alcohol, tobacco, or home goods.