Albertsons Companies Foundation Nourishing Neighbors Summer EBT Program

Origins:

The Albertsons Companies Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors program launched a new collective effort focused on addressing childhood hunger during the summer. By bringing together a coalition of leading nonprofit organizations, the first-of-its-kind initiative aims to drive awareness and boost participation in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children Program (Summer EBT- AKA SUN Bucks). The program aggregates the power of an Advisory Group of leading players across the food system to ensure as many families as possible benefit from the program in this critical first year. The Advisory Group is comprised of representatives from Feeding America®, Food Research & Action Center, Gift Card Bank, Hunger Free America, mRelief, No Kid Hungry, Partnership for a Healthier America, and WhyHunger. This group reaches more than 200 foodbanks, 500 school districts and community organizations, and over 1500 partner organizations across the country. Through a surround-sound approach designed to reach parents and caregivers online and, in their communities, the initiative aims to ensure families have access to the information they need to benefit from this new program. In addition, the coalition launched a new website, SummerEBT.org, which gives families a simple, fast way to check if they are eligible and connect to their state sign-up site. For families that live in states that are not participating, the site directs them to other food resources, such as the USDA Summer Meals program, and enables them write to their elected representatives encouraging their state’s participation next summer.

Contribution:

Our surround sound campaign will use a suite of creative assets and content, informed by focus groups, to reach target audiences across the following channels:
- Digital campaign on platforms used by parents and caregivers.
- National and local media pushes, featuring campaign spokespeople and showcasing state-specific information.
- Signs and resources in community centers, schools, churches, and food banks.
- Circulars and in-store advertising to reach families while they shop at Albertsons Companies stores.

We are also excited to launch a dedicated website at SummerEBT.org. This website provides a simple, fast way for families to check their eligibility and connect to their state sign-up site. For families that live in states that are not participating, the website directs them to other food resources and enables them to easily write to their elected representatives encouraging their state’s participation next summer.

Objectives:

Our campaign is focused on reaching families with direct, easy to understand information about Summer EBT and how they can sign up, with the aim of increasing participation in the program. At the end of the summer, we’ll be coming together to show the impact – including to states not participating this year. We call on all 50 states to join us in this critical step toward making hunger a thing of the past.

Impact:

The Albertsons Companies Foundation’s Summer EBT program is a remarkable initiative that aims to provide food to low-income families during the summer months when school meals are not available. The program offers eligible families a prepaid card that can be used to purchase food at participating stores, helping to prevent food insecurity. The coalition’s creation alone is a success, but the initial launch of the program has exceeded all expectations. The program has been a huge success, as evidenced by the overwhelming response from the families who applied for the program online. In the first week alone of the online screening, over 15,000 unique users visited the site and almost 10,000 families completed the eligibility assessment. This unprecedented demand is exceeding the planned capacity of the backend server, which had to be upgraded to handle the increased traffic and data processing. The Albertsons Companies Foundation is proud of the positive impact of the Summer EBT program and is committed to serving more families in need.

Quote:

“Childhood hunger is a complex problem that requires partners from across the food system to come together and collaborate,” said Christy Duncan Anderson, President and Executive Director of Albertsons Companies Foundation. “Through the collective knowledge, expertise and extensive network of prominent nonprofits and the Albertsons Companies Foundation, we aim to connect with a greater number of families than we could individually.”

Support Statement:

“We have advocated for the creation of a summer EBT program like SUN Bucks for more than a decade and we are thrilled that this program will be available to families facing food insecurity this summer,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “Working alongside people facing hunger and partners like Albertsons Companies Foundation, we will make a real impact on summer hunger and lay the groundwork for more states to participate next year.” “Summer is the hungriest time of the year for the millions of children who rely on school meals, and the rising costs of groceries means families are feeling the pinch even more,” added Anne Filipic, CEO of No Kid Hungry. “We believe that by joining Albertsons Companies Foundation and their partners, together we can get one step closer to ensuring every single child in America has the food they need to grow up healthy and strong.”