DENVER (April 28, 2025) — The Colorado Department of Human Services is proud to once again help more than a half-million Colorado students purchase healthy foods during the summer months when schools are not in session. In 2024, CDHS launched the Summer EBT program, which provides a one-time payment of $120 in benefits to eligible students. Students will receive their benefits over the next two weeks.
“We are thrilled that we are able to offer this benefit to more than a half-million Colorado school children again this summer,” said CDHS Executive Director Michelle Barnes. “This program is crucial in helping to close gaps in childhood hunger and nutrition in the months that schools are closed.”
Students can use their benefits to buy most fresh, canned and frozen food items like:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat, dairy and eggs
- Rice, beans and dry goods
- Snack crackers and bakery cakes
- Seeds and plants that produce food
“CDHS wants to make it as easy as possible for as many students as possible to have healthy foods when schools are closed for the summer,” said Abby McClelland, director of the Food and Energy Assistance Division. “This is why we automatically enroll students who are eligible.”
CDHS automatically enrolled students who:
- Applied and qualified for free or reduced-price meals while attending a school that is participating in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program; or
- Are receiving other assistance benefits — including SNAP and Colorado Works (TANF), or who meet National School Lunch Program income guidelines and are receiving Medicaid.
Students may have to fill out an application if they:
- Moved to Colorado recently
- Enrolled in a new school
- Do not have an up-to-date household income form on file with their current school
You can find the Summer EBT application for 2025 benefits on the PEAK website.
If students who received the benefit last year still qualify, CDHS will automatically load their 2025 benefit onto their existing Summer EBT card. Newly eligible students will receive a new, pre-loaded card in the mail.
Students who misplaced their existing card should call the Summer EBT support center at 800-536-5298 and they will help you get a new card sent to you.
For more information about the Summer EBT program, including who is eligible and the number for families or students to call to check their eligibility, go to the CDHS website.
The CDHS Food and Energy Assistance Division (FEAD) administers the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This program exists to safeguard the health and well-being of low-income, financially eligible households by providing food assistance benefits redeemable for food items at authorized retailers.
Media contact:
John Rosa, OES Communications Manager
720-618-2027
john.rosa@state.co.us