Summer EBT: Frequently Asked Questions

Families will get $120 for each eligible child in their household for summer 2025. The $120 benefit amount for each eligible child provides $40 for each month of June, July, and August.

Summer EBT benefits are a one-time issuance. This means that once your child gets their benefits, they will not get any more Summer EBT benefits for the year.

We sent the first issuance of benefits on June 7, 2025. On that day, we sent benefits to all families of children who we knew were eligible. If we get information over the summer telling us that a child qualifies, we will send the benefits in a “catch-up” issuance. These issuances will happen throughout the summer until the end of September.

The earliest someone could receive Summer EBT benefits for 2025 was June 7, 2025. If you were sent a letter about receiving benefits but you did not already have a QUEST or Pandemic EBT card for us to load benefits onto, you will be sent a new QUEST card in the mail. Please allow 7-10 business days for your card to be delivered after we issue the benefits. If you do not get your card in the mail, please contact the Summer EBT Support Team by emailing DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov or calling 833-431-2224.

If you think your child should have gotten Summer EBT benefits and you did not get the benefits or a letter telling you that you’d be receiving them, this may mean that we do not have all the information we need to know if they qualify or to send the benefits to you.

If your child meets the requirements to get benefits automatically but did not get them, it likely means that we do not have contact information for your household. To make sure we have the most up-to-date contact information for your family, use the Benefit Management Tool. If we just need your household’s contact information to be able to issue benefits, we will send you your benefits as soon as we can once we get that.

You can also contact the Summer EBT Support Team for help by emailing DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov or calling 833-431-2224.

Yes. If we get your child’s information by August 28, 2025, and they qualify for Summer EBT, we will still send the benefits. Over the summer, if we get information that a child qualifies, we will send them their benefits in another issuance. These issuances will happen regularly throughout the summer until the end of September.

If your child qualifies for Summer EBT, we will send you a letter. This letter will tell you that they are qualified and the total benefit amount you will be sent. If you have more than one child receiving benefits at that time, information about each of them will be listed in this letter.

If you get separate letters for your children about their eligibility at the same time, this may be because they are on different cases. If your children are on different cases, they may get their benefits on different cards. Benefits cannot be combined or transferred between the different cards.

If you get separate letters for your children, this may also be because they are found to be eligible at different times throughout the summer. For example, if one child receives benefits in June, we will send you a letter at that time explaining the benefits for that child. If a second child is found to be eligible in August, we will send you another letter in August explaining the benefits for that second child.

We can only send Summer EBT benefits to families who have a current address on file. If you got a text message or email asking you to update or confirm your contact information, that means we do not have your current address on file. For us to send you benefits, you must update or confirm your address on file.

To update or confirm your address, you can either:

• Use the Benefit Management Tool.
• Call the Summer EBT Support Team at 833-431-2224.

To make sure that there is no delay in sending Summer EBT benefits, you should confirm or update your address as soon as possible.

If you think you were sent more benefits than you should have been, please contact the Summer EBT Support Team by emailing DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov or calling 833-431-2224. You should not use the card(s) with those benefits until the issue is resolved.

You have the right to request a fair hearing. A fair hearing allows you to tell why you think there has been a wrong decision about your application or benefits. At the hearing, a hearing officer will hear from you and the agency. They will then determine if the decision was right or wrong. You may bring a friend or family member with you to the hearing.

To request a fair hearing, you will need to send either a fair hearing request form or a letter asking for a hearing to the Division of Hearings & Appeals, PO Box 7875, Madison, WI 53707. You can also fax it to 608-264-9885.

You may be able to get free legal help for the hearing. To learn more about legal help, call 888-278-0633.

Children who were homeschooled or enrolled in a fully virtual school for the 2024-2025 school year are only eligible to get Summer EBT if they meet both of the following requirements:

• Born on or between July 1, 2006, and August 31, 2019.
• Part of a household that participated in a qualifying benefit program at any point during the 2024-2025 school year or 2025 summer. The qualifying benefit programs include:
  • FoodShare
  • Wisconsin Works (W-2)
  • The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
  • Certain income-based Medicaid programs (See Medicaid in Wisconsin: A-Z, P-02383)

If your child does not meet both of those requirements, then they cannot get Summer EBT this year. That said, you could consider applying for one of the qualifying benefit programs. If your child meets the age requirements and your household is approved for one of the programs by August 28, 2025, you will be sent Summer EBT benefits.

Children who qualify because they have an approved 2024-2025 application for free or reduced price meals on file with their National School Lunch Program (NSLP) school do not have to be a certain age to get benefits.

If your child does not go to an NSLP school (or if your child does not have an approved FRPL application on file with their NSLP school) but your household participates in one of the qualifying programs for some or all of the 2024-2025 school year or 2025 summer, they must have been born on or between July 1, 2006, and August 31, 2019, to get Summer EBT.

To learn more about applying for any of the qualifying programs, call 211 or visit ACCESS (ACCESS in Spanish). You can also contact your local or Tribal agency who will help you apply for the programs.

Each child in your household must meet the requirements to qualify for Summer EBT. If you have one child in your household that is eligible, that does not mean all your children will be eligible.

If your children go to different schools, they may need to meet different requirements to receive Summer EBT. For example, if one child in your household goes to a school that accepts FRPL applications, but your other child does not, each child will have different options—or pathways—to being identified as eligible for Summer EBT.

Visit the Summer EBT: How to Qualify page to see the steps you can take depending on which pathway your child could be found eligible.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a meal program that operates in public and nonprofit private schools. Students approved for NSLP can get low-cost or no-cost lunches each school day.

You will need to contact your child’s school to confirm if it participates in the NSLP.

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a meal service option for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows schools and districts in low-income areas to serve meals to all students at no cost. CEP schools do not collect applications for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL).

You can look to see if your child’s school is on the list of CEP participating schools and districts (PDF).

As long as your child meets the eligibility requirements for some or all of the 2024-2025 school year or 2025 summer, they will receive Summer EBT benefits for 2025. Graduating this year does not necessarily prevent a child from being eligible for Summer EBT.

If you have questions about the status of your application, email summerebt@dpi.wi.gov. In your email, include the confirmation number you got when submitting the application.

Whether you need to apply again depends on when your application was approved last year.

If your application was approved after July 1, 2024, your child automatically qualifies for Summer EBT this year. You don’t need to apply again, but if you have moved since submitting that application, you may want to update your contact information through the Benefit Management Tool.

If your application was approved before July 1, 2024, you may need to apply again. Make sure to check whether you need to apply first.

If your application is approved, you will be sent a letter telling you that your child will be receiving benefits. If you applied for more than one child at the same time, the letter will list each child who is approved to get benefits and the total benefit amount you will be sent.

If your application is not approved, you will be sent an email telling you that your child will not be receiving benefits. This email will explain the reasons for the denial and any next steps you can take.

If you apply for Summer EBT and are told that you need to give additional documentation, this means that we need to see proof that your household’s income is at or below the limit for Summer EBT.

You must provide documentation of your household’s income or situation to help us confirm your child(ren)’s eligibility. The documentation must list the source, amount, and frequency of your household’s income.

If you are told that you need to give additional documentation, you should send it back by the deadline you were given. If you don’t send the documentation in time or if you do not submit the right information, your application for Summer EBT benefits may be denied.

The earliest someone could have been issued benefits was June 7, 2025. If your application was approved in time to be included in the June 7 issuance, then we sent your child’s benefits then along with a letter explaining the benefits you’re getting. If is application was approved after the first issuance, then we will send your child’s benefits and a letter during the next planned issuance of benefits.

    For any questions about your Summer EBT application, email summerebt@dpi.wi.gov.

Your card comes with instructions for setting up your card and will tell you what you should do to keep it and your benefits safe.

If you lose your card, call QUEST Card Service at 877-415-5164. They will cancel the old card and mail you a replacement QUEST card.

You may have to pay a $2.70 fee to replace a card. The fee will come out of your Summer EBT benefits.

If you think your benefits are being used without your permission, that is considered fraud. You should report the fraud to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at 877-865-3432 or on the OIG Fraud Reporting website.

Once the benefits are added to your EBT card, you have 122 days (about 4 months) to use them. Any Summer EBT benefits that you have not used after that time will be removed from your card. You will get a reminder in the mail before we remove any Summer EBT benefits from your card.

In rare cases, families may get multiple cards if their children are on different cases. If this happens, the benefits cannot be combined or transferred between the different cards.

If you think you got more benefits than you should have, contact the Summer EBT Support Team by emailing DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov or calling 833-431-2224. You should not use the card that has those benefits until the issue has been resolved.

If food you purchased with Summer EBT benefits was lost due to a household misfortune or natural disaster, you can request replacement benefits. You must complete your request for replacement food benefits within 10 days of the food loss.

If you only get Summer EBT benefits and not FoodShare, you will need to complete Request for Replacement FoodShare and/or Summer EBT Benefits form, F-00330 and email it to DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov.

If you get both FoodShare and Summer EBT, visit our Replacement Food Benefits page for more information on how you can request replacement benefits.

If you have not been sent benefits yet, you can let us know you don’t want them through the Benefit Management Tool. If you choose to opt out, it will only be for Summer 2025.

If you were already sent benefits but do not want them, you can contact the Summer EBT Support Team by emailing DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov or calling 833-431-2224.

For any questions about a Summer EBT application, email summerebt@dpi.wi.gov.

Any other questions about Summer EBT should be sent to the Summer EBT Support Team. You can contact the Summer EBT Support Team by emailing DHSSEBTSupport@dhs.wisconsin.gov or calling 833-431-2224.

If your child gets Summer EBT benefits, they can still participate in Wisconsin’s other summer meal programs, such as the Summer Food Service Program and the Seamless Summer Option. To learn more, visit wisummerfood.org or call 211.

Wisconsin also has other food support programs that can help you find food. Visit the 211 Wisconsin website or call 877-947-2211 to find out more about food programs near you.

You can apply in a few different ways—whichever is easiest for you:

• Online: Use ACCESS (ACCESS in Spanish) to apply. You can apply for multiple programs at the same time when using ACCESS.
• By phone or in person: Contact your local or Tribal agency during their office hours for more information.