summer EBT

After the largest inflationary jolt in prices in a half century, “We are seeing signs that grocery prices may be turning a corner,” said White House national economic adviser Lael Brainard on Thursday. The grocery inflation rate was 1 percent over the past 12 months, Brainard said during a speech, “but corporations have to do more to bring their prices down.”

In FERN’s latest story, published with Mother Jones, Bryce Covert explores why 15 states are refusing to participate in Summer EBT, a new federal program that gives poor families with children money for groceries during the summer when they can’t get meals at school.

Roughly seven of every 10 school-age children will be included in the new Summer EBT program, which is expected to disburse $2.5 billion in its first year of operation, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.

An estimated 13 million children in 25 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will receive benefits through the summer EBT program, said the Agriculture Department on Monday. Families of eligible children typically receive $391 per child for the summer.