La Grande School District reminds families Summer EBT benefits return in 2026
Eligible Union County families can get $120 per child starting June 5, but some must apply before Sept. 1.
La Grande School District is reminding families that Summer EBT returns in 2026, and the biggest detail is simple: many households will not need to apply at all. Oregon says families already receiving SNAP, TANF or Oregon Health Plan Medicaid, along with children in foster care, migrant programs, students identified by schools as experiencing houselessness and Head Start participants, are automatically eligible and will begin receiving benefits June 5.
Each eligible child gets one $120 payment for the summer, loaded onto an Oregon EBT card, also known as an Oregon Trail Card. Families can use the benefit at grocery stores, farmers markets and other places that accept EBT cards. Unused benefits expire 122 days after they are issued, which makes timing important for parents trying to stretch food dollars through the break between school years.
For families who are not automatically enrolled, Oregon’s online application portal opens June 5 and the 2026 application period closes Sept. 1. The state’s Summer EBT call center opens June 1 and stays open until Sept. 25. Oregon also says paper applications are available in 10 languages, a detail that matters for households that may need a printed form rather than the online process.
Missing the program often comes down to the same barriers year after year: families do not know they qualify automatically, they assume Summer EBT is tied only to free or reduced-price lunch, or they wait too long and miss the deadline. Oregon says it expects up to 370,000 school-aged children to receive about $40 million in Summer EBT food benefits in 2026, up from about 341,500 eligible children in 2025 and more than 329,000 children issued $39.5 million in 2024.
That scale explains why the district’s notice matters in La Grande and across Union County. Summer means more hours at home and fewer school meals to fill in the gaps. Even a one-time $120 benefit can help households cover groceries when breakfast and lunch at school are no longer part of the daily routine.
The district’s message also steers families toward the state’s official information so they can check eligibility before the deadlines hit. For parents trying to manage summer food costs, the key dates are June 1 for the call center, June 5 for automatic benefits and the application portal, and Sept. 1 for the end of applications.
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