Texas will begin a summer lunch program in 2027, but only if feds don’t raise costs

A new food program that would give low income families $120 per child to help feed them during the summer months could be coming to Texas in 2027.

Texas has never participated in the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program, created in 2023, an offshoot of a similar pandemic program. But tucked inside the state’s $338 billion budget is a $60 million addition for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to administer such a program.

States have to pay 50% of the administrative cost to participate in the Summer EBT program, a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that also goes by the name of Sun Bucks. That large investment could bring another $400 million in federal dollars to Texas.