The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service awarded the Department of Human Resources Alabama $72 million on October 1, 2025, under the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children (CFDA 10.646), with performance through September 30, 2026. The program funds EBT card distribution to eligible children during summer months when school meal programs are unavailable, reducing hunger and food insecurity among children who lose access to free and reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program during the school closure period. Eligible children receive nutrition benefits loaded onto Summer EBT cards that they use to purchase food from approved retailers. Children identified as eligible for free or reduced price school meals in the prior school year or during summer are automatically enrolled where administrative data permit; those without identifiable administrative records must apply and be determined eligible. States may release assistance as a lump sum or on a monthly basis through their determined summer period. The award is formula-based and permanent rather than competitive, with annual federal funding determinations. Work is performed in Alabama.