Summer food benefits now available to many Oregon families with kids

For the third year in a row, many Oregon families with school-aged children will have access to financial assistance for their summer groceries. 

Oregon is one of 39 states participating in the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, or Summer EBT, offering families a one-time payment of $120 for each eligible child to be used on groceries during the summer. In 2025, at least 336,000 Oregon children received these benefits. 

The state began rolling out the benefits on Friday, and families with children enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and those receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, will automatically receive an Oregon EBT card to use at grocery stores, farmers markets and convenience stores. 

Other automatically eligible families include those with a child attending a qualifying Head Start program, a child in foster care, in a migrant education program, experiencing homelessness or participating in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

Interested in Summer EBT? How to apply

Those who didn’t automatically receive Summer EBT benefits can apply online or with a paper application available on the Oregon Department of Human Services website. New families must apply for the program by Sept. 1.

Families are eligible if they have a child attending a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program, or if they meet the income requirements for free or reduced-price meals at school. 

The program does not use immigration status to determine eligibility, and the benefits expire four months after they show up on an EBT card.