Summer EBT Sends $189 Million to Feed New York Kids This Summer

Hochul’s program delivers $120 per child as federal SNAP cuts deepen the hunger crisis Mohawk Valley families already feel.

The Summer EBT program has already pumped $189 million into the hands of nearly 1.6 million New York children this season, and state officials say more help is on the way. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the milestone on July 1, 2026, casting the federally funded benefit as a lifeline at a moment when Washington is busy cutting the food assistance working families count on.

“Making sure every young person has the nourishment they need to thrive is central to my fight to invest in our children’s future and make life more affordable for New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “At a time when vital nutrition programs like SNAP face continued attacks in Washington, Summer EBT puts money back in the pockets of New York’s working families, helping them afford to buy healthy food during the summer months when schools are out of session and many children lose access to free school meals.”

What Summer EBT Actually Does

Summer EBT is a federally funded program run in New York by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. It targets a problem that has plagued low-income families for decades: when the school bell rings in June, millions of children lose access to the free and reduced-price meals they count on through the National School Lunch Program.

Each eligible child receives a one-time payment of $120 on an electronic benefit transfer card. Families use that card just like SNAP, to buy groceries at authorized retailers, farmers markets, and other participating stores.

How It Works

The state began issuing 2026 benefits in mid-June and will continue sending them through the summer and into the end of the year. When the rollout finishes, OTDA expects about $240 million to reach roughly 2 million school-aged children across the state.

Use It or Lose It

One detail families often miss: Summer EBT benefits expire 122 days after they are issued. Any unused money is removed from the card after that window. Recipients should spend the funds soon after they arrive.

Who Qualifies Automatically

Most eligible children are enrolled without lifting a finger, including children who receive SNAP, Public Assistance, or Medicaid, and students directly certified for free or reduced-price meals through their school under the National School Lunch Program.

Who Must Apply

Some families at schools that offer free meals to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision still have to fill out an application. That includes working-poor households earning just above the SNAP line and mixed-status immigrant families who never filled out income paperwork because everyone at their school eats free. The deadline to apply for 2026 benefits is September 8, 2026. Families can check their status and apply at ny.gov/SummerEBT.

The Numbers Tell a Story of Real Relief

A demonstration project tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the pandemic found that Summer EBT cut the number of children with very low food security by one-third. That is a measurable reduction in childhood hunger, not a talking point.

New York’s investment has grown in three short years:

• 2024: $254 million to more than 2.1 million children, the program’s first year.

• 2025: roughly $250 million to more than 2 million children in every corner of the state.

• 2026: $189 million already issued by July 1, on track for about $240 million by year’s end.

On top of the federal Summer EBT dollars, Governor Hochul secured $51 million for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, $15 million to expand HPNAP to regional food banks, and $55 million for the Nourish NY program in the FY27 state budget. She also secured $395 million to reimburse the cost of school meals in FY 2027, continuing the Universal Free School Meals program enacted in the FY26 budget.

Why It Matters for the Mohawk Valley

Utica and the surrounding Mohawk Valley may sit three hours from Albany, but they sit close to the front lines of the hunger crisis this program is built to address.

The Food Bank of Central New York covers an 11-county service area that includes Oneida and Herkimer counties, and it lists roughly 43 partner programs across the region. Local pantries in Utica, Rome, and surrounding towns have reported a sharp rise in need, the Utica Observer Dispatch has documented.

A Hidden Crisis Closer to Home

Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap classified 10.3 percent of Oneida County residents as food insecure as of 2021, the most recent year for which that data was collected. Local food pantry officials have called the situation a hidden crisis, with lines at outdoor distribution sites stretching into the roadway and volunteers running out of food before the day ends.

St. Margaret’s Food Pantry in Utica served about 22 people per month in 2022. By October 2023, that number had jumped to roughly 350 individuals in a single month, the Observer Dispatch reported.

For a working Mohawk Valley family with two school-aged children, $240 in Summer EBT benefits is not a windfall. It represents roughly a month of groceries at a time when prices stay stubbornly high.

Reaching the Hardest to Reach

Hunger Solutions New York and No Kid Hungry New York have warned that some children slip through the cracks at universal-free-meal schools, where families no longer fill out income paperwork because everyone eats free. Attending a Community Eligibility Provision school does not, on its own, qualify a child for Summer EBT. Those families must submit a separate application before the September 8 deadline.

In a region with a sizable refugee and immigrant population, that paperwork barrier matters. Advocates stress that immigration status does not affect Summer EBT eligibility, and the benefit does not count toward a public charge determination.

Washington Is Cutting Help at the Same Time

Summer EBT arrives as the federal government slashes SNAP, the larger program most low-income New Yorkers depend on year-round.

A Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis found that more than 3.5 million people nationwide lost SNAP benefits between July 2025 and February 2026 as President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” took effect, CNBC reported in May 2026. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the law cut $187 billion from SNAP, the biggest cut in the program’s history.

In New York, about 300,000 households could lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, with an average loss of about $220 a month per household, according to Hunger Solutions New York. SNAP enrollment in the state had already dropped by about 150,000 people by February, before the expanded work reporting requirements took full effect on March 1, 2026.

“We know that the worst is yet to come in a lot of states, including New York,” said Krista Hesdorfer, director of public affairs at Hunger Solutions New York.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported a “remarkable increase in food insecurity, particularly among households with young children,” a finding cited by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy.

Voices From the Front Lines

Anti-hunger advocates across the state have hailed Summer EBT as a model that works.

Rachel Sabella, director of No Kid Hungry New York, called the program “one of the most effective tools we have to combat childhood hunger during the summer months, when many children lose access to the school meals they rely on,” adding that the benefits “strengthen local economies by allowing recipients to spend them at neighborhood grocery stores, farmers markets, and other local businesses.”

Andrés Vives, CEO of Hunger Solutions New York, said Summer EBT “helps children get the food they need to stay healthy and be ready to learn when they return to school in the fall.”

Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, was more blunt. “Hungry kids are the only kids who dread, instead of relish, summer vacations off from school,” he said. “We applaud Governor Hochul for highlighting this vital program.”

Senator Charles Schumer, who fought to secure federal funding for the program, framed the stakes plainly.

“No child should ever go hungry, which is why I have always fought to secure federal funding for the Summer EBT program. With so many New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet this summer, federal funding for hungry kids is more critical than ever.”

What Families Can Do Right Now

Three steps can help families take advantage of the program before the September 8 deadline:

1. Check eligibility at ny.gov/SummerEBT. The state’s eligibility tool tells you whether your child is automatically enrolled or needs an application.

2. Apply online if needed. Parents and guardians of all enrolled children fill out one application through the OTDA portal.

3. Protect your card. OTDA urges all cardholders to freeze their EBT cards between purchases and to change their PIN to guard against skimming theft. Stolen Summer EBT benefits cannot be replaced.

Families who do not receive an eligibility letter by August 1 should call the Summer EBT helpline at 1-833-452-0096.

The Bottom Line for New York Families

Summer EBT will not fix the hunger crisis alone, and no one in Albany pretends it will. The program moves roughly a quarter of a billion dollars a year to New York families, even as Washington policy strips billions more from SNAP.

For Utica families and Mohawk Valley children, the test is whether the help reaches them in time, before the 122-day clock runs out and the money vanishes back into the system. Governor Hochul’s July 1 announcement is a beginning, not the end of the story.

If this story helped your family learn about Summer EBT, share it with a neighbor who may not know the deadline is approaching. Tell us in the comments below: did your child receive benefits this summer, and did you have any trouble getting them?

By David LaGuerre for the Utica Phoenix. Sources include the New York Governor’s press office, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Hunger Solutions New York, No Kid Hungry New York, the NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College, CNBC, and the Utica Observer Dispatch.