Food Aid Cut for Over 650,000 Kids in Indiana—Here’s What to Know

More than 650,000 Indiana children will no longer receive summer food benefits after the state chose to opt out of the program for 2025.

Summertime Can Be a Real Challenge for Families Facing Food Insecurity

For children all across the United States, food insecurity at home is a very real concern. For many, the free or reduced lunch that they receive at school may be the only meal of the day. This can make the summer break especially difficult.

What Is the Summer EBT Program?

Families across Indiana previously made use of the Summer EBT program, a program that provides extra funds to families with children to ensure access to nutritious food. And while the $120 per child per month certainly is not a lot of extra money, it has proven helpful to many.

650K+ Indiana Kids Lose Summer Food Benefits

However, according to a press release from the United States Department of Agriculture, Indiana has made the decision to opt out of the Summer EBT program for 2025. This means Indiana will not distribute additional funds for food assistance to families this summer.

What This Means for Hoosier Families

According to WTHR, this same program provided support to 669,000 Hoosier children in 2024. Fortunately, even without the support of the Summer EBT program, there are still resources available for Indiana families.

Where Families Can Still Find Food Assistance

To find food assistance, families can contact the USDA National Hunger Hotline, operated by Hunger Free America, Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479) for English or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (1-877-842-6273) for Spanish.

[Source:IN.gov]