Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture, Congressman Mike Levin (CA-49), and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), introduced the Stop Child Hunger Act, legislation to expand the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program to include periods when schools are closed for five or more days—including winter break, spring break, and other prolonged school closures. The legislation would also provide funding for grants to help states implement the Summer EBT program more effectively.
Through Summer EBT, states provide benefits for families of eligible children to buy food over the summer break —a time when more than 30 million kids from low-income families are not able to get the school meals they rely on. These benefits mirror legislation which established the Summer EBT program, signed into law in December 2022—based on the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act, introduced by Congresswoman Hayes, Congressman Levin and Senator Murray.
“For many students, school is the only place they consistently receive a hot meal. While Summer EBT was expanded in 2023, vital programs like SNAP are still under threat of cuts from Republicans in Congress,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “The Stop Child Hunger Act provides a crucial solution by making Summer EBT permanent and nationwide, giving eligible children year-round access to nutritious food with EBT benefits matching the value of school meals for school closures longer than five days. This is a vital step towards addressing child hunger and a necessary investment in public health and equity for our most vulnerable children.”
“While Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration gut food assistance programs, I’m doing everything I can to make sure kids are able to get the food they need to thrive,” said Rep. Levin. “This bill strengthens and expands existing nutritional programs to ensure that families and children have food year-round, including during school closures and holidays. As a parent, I know how important it is for kids to have access to nutritious food. We need do everything we can to fight child hunger. I thank Rep. Hayes and Sen. Murray for their partnership on this bill and I look forward to pushing it forward through the legislative process.”
“No kid in America should go hungry—it’s really that simple,” said Senator Murray. “I’ve been fighting for more than a decade to ensure that kids who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the school year don’t lose access to nutritious meals when school is out, and we took a huge step forward when we passed the Summer EBT program into law—which helped feed nearly 600,000 kids in Washington state last summer. Our legislation would build on that progress and make sure that kids whose families are on the tightest budgets still have access to nutritious meals when school is closed for a week or more, including for winter and spring breaks. While the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are working overtime to rip away nutrition benefits from moms and kids, and cut programs families rely on to meet their basic needs, Democrats are fighting to make sure every child is fed and has the support they need to succeed.”
“Millions of children lose access to free and reduced-price meals when schools close,” said Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “The Stop Child Hunger Act builds on the Summer EBT program to help families keep food on the table during school breaks, increasing the benefit levels and covering state’ cost. FRAC urges Congress to pass this bill without delay. Hungry children can't wait.”
“With the Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025, Senator Murray is acting on one of the most critical needs in Washington state right now, where families with children are often twice as likely to be food insecure. This bill builds on the success of the SUN Bucks EBT program in 2024, which delivered a one-time $120 benefit per year per eligible child, so nearly 600,000 families were able to buy groceries last summer. Senator Murray’s leadership on child hunger is unmatched with real solutions and real results for Washington families,” said Megan Blado Cooper, Interim CEO of Food Lifeline.
“The Stop Child Hunger Act provides critical improvements to Summer EBT, which has been so important for children and their families, including more than half the students in Washington State,” said Claire Lane Director of the Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition. “This bill means Summer EBT is there for kids when schools are closed due to prolonged emergencies or natural disasters, and it helps states and schools manage the program more efficiently, effectively and affordably.”
Specifically, the Stop Child Hunger Act would:
- Expand the Summer EBT program to include all school closure periods, periods of operating remotely, or operating in a hybrid manner for five or more consecutive weekdays.
- Provide 100 percent federal cost share for states on administrative costs for Fiscal Year 2026 with a transition to 50 percent cost share by Fiscal Year 2031 for FY31 and each year after.
- Direct the USDA Secretary to create a program to make grants to states to support the development of data systems, or upgrades to existing data systems, that are necessary to implement the Summer EBT program more effectively. The legislation provides $50 million for these implementation grants.
Full text of the legislation can be found here
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