One-time payment will provide direct food assistance to families in need
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The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) will provide a $120 one-time payment directly to families in need across 13 counties through the Summer Nutrition Initiative starting Friday, June 12, 2026.
The initiative first launched in 2025 as a state-funded effort to provide additional nutrition assistance to serve families in underserved counties.
“This initiative reflects Tennessee’s commitment to ensuring children have access to nutritious food throughout the summer,” said TDHS Commissioner Clarence H. Carter. “By providing targeted support to families in communities with limited access to summer meal programs, we are helping bridge a critical gap to ensure children receive the nutrition support needed during the summer months.”
The Summer Nutrition Initiative will serve eligible children in 13 counties who are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Families First- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program.
The program will use existing EBT cards to provide the one-time payment to families.
Thirteen counties were identified through Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) data as having limited access to SFSP meal sites and thus qualify to receive the one-time payment. The approved counties include: Bledsoe, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Fentress, Hancock, Humphreys, Jackson, Lewis, Marshall, Moore, Sequatchie, and Smith.
The one-time TN Summer Nutrition Initiative benefit is available to children who are:
•Age 5-18 as of May 1, 2026
•Members of an open and active SNAP and/or Families First case as of May 31, 2026
•Residing in Bledsoe, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Fentress, Hancock, Humphreys, Jackson, Lewis, Marshall, Moore, Sequatchie, and Smith counties as of May 31, 2026
Eligible households do not need to apply for this benefit. Families in the targeted counties will automatically receive the benefit on their existing EBT cards beginning June 12, 2026. Benefits can be used anywhere where EBT is accepted for purchasing food.
For more information on the Summer Nutrition Initiative, please visit: https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/summer-nutrition-initiative.html.
Following recent approval by the Tennessee General Assembly, Tennessee will transition to participation in the federally funded Summer EBT program beginning in 2027.
