Georgia families struggle to buy food during summer as state declines to extend enhanced benefits

Georgia is among 14 states that no longer provide a federal benefit giving extra food assistance to low-income families.
The Atlanta-based social service organization Caring For Others provided food, clothes, toys, shoes, furniture and other essentials to more than 129,000 households in 2023. (Courtesy of Caring For Others)

A little extra money to buy groceries during a recent summer gave Augusta parent Tasha Marshall a rare chance to spice up the meals she cooked for her family by adding meat.

Thousands of low-income families in Georgia began receiving emergency pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits that provided extra food assistance for days that schools were closed during the 2019-2020 school year. The program would continue to be available during the summer months when an extra $40 per child in monthly food assistance allowed parents to purchase groceries while school was on break.

Georgia is among 14 states that no longer provide the federal benefit that has now become a permanent program for the first time.