Most families that receive Summer EBT food aid have until Oct. 10 to hit the grocery stores and farmers markets and use the benefits before they expire.
The federally funded program provides support for qualifying Vermont families, including those who receive free and reduced-price school lunches, to buy groceries for their children during the summer. The electronic benefits are valid for about four months after families receive them, according to a memo from the Vermont Agency of Education. For most families, that means they expire Oct. 10, the agency said.
Food costs in the Northeast have risen 2.9% over the past year, according to an August study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Vermont is in the top three nationwide for the biggest grocery price hikes from 2024 to 2025, rising 7% during that year, according to a study by the Consumer Affairs Journal of Consumer Research.
For families, the costs hit hardest in the summer, when children don’t receive school-provided meals as they do during the year, according to Tim Morgan, deputy director of programs at the advocacy organization Hunger Free Vermont.
“And for families that qualify, Summer EBT provides a grocery benefit that can make a huge difference to filling that gap,” Morgan said.
Summer EBT benefits were issued for more than 38,000 school-age Vermont children this year, according to the Education Agency memo. Eligible households receive $120 for each school-age child.
The benefit cards can be used at grocery stores, online retailers and farmers markets to buy foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, meat and dairy products, according to the state’s Vermont Summer EBT web page.
In early September, Summer EBT benefit cards for over 12,000 children still had a balance of more than $20, according to the Education Agency memo. More than $1.4 million in benefits could be returned to the federal government if left unused, it said.