The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Summer EBT Team is being honored in Category 2: Delivering Excellence in Digital Services for rapidly launching a data-driven, user-friendly food benefits program that reached more than 362,000 children in just 16 weeks.

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In that short time, ODHS successfully designed, launched, and implemented Oregon’s first Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SEBT) program to help combat child hunger during the months when school meals are unavailable. Despite tight timelines, the team built an innovative, data-driven system that delivered $43.2 million in food benefits to families, making Oregon one of the first states in the nation to roll out the new USDA-backed program.

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The team’s achievements were remarkable. Ninety-seven percent of benefits were issued automatically through cross-agency data integration, removing the burden of applying for most families. For those who did apply, a mobile-friendly application available in English and Spanish enabled 99 percent of applications to be completed online in under 10 minutes. A new school portal supported real-time eligibility verification, adding nearly 10,000 children to the program. Benefits were consolidated to a single card for 98 percent of families, with more than 60 percent able to access them instantly. To ensure awareness and support, ODHS stood up a dedicated call center, a 24/7 online portal, and multilingual resources in 10 languages, while sending more than 218,000 SMS notifications to families. Over 33,000 calls were handled with a 96 percent satisfaction rating.

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Guided by equity, accessibility, and speed, Oregon’s SEBT program not only addressed a critical need for summer food access but also set a new national standard for effective and inclusive public service delivery.