Stop Child Hunger Act Expands Summer EBT to Cover Unexpected School Closures, Starting 2025

This legislation, the Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025, is focused on making sure kids don’t go hungry when school is out—and not just during the traditional summer break. It significantly expands the existing Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) for Children program, making it much more flexible and responsive to modern life.

More Than Just Summer Break

The biggest change here is that the program is no longer just for June, July, and August. Under this bill, benefits can be issued anytime there is a “school closure period.” This is defined pretty broadly: any time an elementary or secondary school is closed, running remotely, or using a hybrid model for five or more weekdays in a row. Think of those unexpected snow days that pile up, or even a return to remote learning during a public health emergency. For families relying on school meals, this means a much more consistent safety net when the cafeteria is closed.

When these benefits kick in, the calculation is standardized and robust. Starting in 2025, the benefit amount must be enough to cover breakfast, lunch, and a snack at the “free rate” for every day of that closure period. This is a clear win for consistency and adequacy, ensuring that the benefits actually cover a significant portion of a child’s daily nutritional needs, regardless of why the school is shut down. For a parent juggling work and childcare during an unexpected closure, this EBT deposit provides crucial relief.

The Cost of Running the Program

While the expansion is great news for families, the bill lays out a clear, and potentially challenging, funding roadmap for the states that administer the program. Right now, the federal government helps states pay for the administrative costs—the IT systems, the personnel, the processing. For Fiscal Year 2026, the federal government will cover 100% of these expenses, which is a great start for states trying to implement the expanded program.

However, this funding slides down quickly. It drops to 90% in FY2027, then 80% in FY2028, 70% in FY2029, and 60% in FY2030. By FY2031 and beyond, the federal share settles at 50%. This means that after the initial implementation period, state budgets will have to pick up an increasingly larger piece of the administrative tab. While the program’s goal is noble, state governments need to prepare now for that increasing financial responsibility, which could strain budgets if participation numbers skyrocket.

Tech Upgrades Are Required

To manage this expanded, year-round program, states need better technology. The bill recognizes this and requires the Secretary to establish a grant program specifically to help states build or upgrade their data systems. To kickstart this, the bill mandates a $50 million transfer from the Treasury on October 1, 2025, to fund these grants. This is essential infrastructure funding. Without modern systems, processing benefits quickly and accurately during unexpected, short-notice closures would be a nightmare. However, it’s worth noting that the actual availability of these funds depends on Congress following through with specific appropriations, so the tech upgrade timeline might be a key challenge in the rollout.