Tribal Caucus – April 11, 2024 @ 11 a.m. central

IFAI facilitated a Tribal Caucus on April 11 diving into the Summer EBT program and the opportunity for Tribes and Tribal leaders to provide feedback on the program’s proposed changes.

Why: The U.S. Department of Agriculture – Food Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) is seeking written comments on the final rule, which amends the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and National School Lunch Program’s Seamless Summer Option (SSO) so that program operators could provide SFSP and SSO meals using a non-congregate approach.

Quick overview:
The amendments means eligible children, especially those residing in rural areas, do not need to travel to traditional congregate sites to participate.

Secondly, this interim final rule allows the new Summer EBT program to use EBT cards so that families can purchase food for their children. Initial stakeholder feedback (including ITOs) was generally positive about changes to SFSP and SSO, with some concerns about the definition of “rural.” USDA consulted with Tribal leaders on Summer EBT in May 2023.

ITOs shared robust feedback on three specific topics: the benefit delivery model for ITOs, enrolling eligible children, and de-duplication of benefits.

Although the Tribal Caucus has concluded, please click the button below or  download briefing materials here.