Let’s coordinate, share ideas, and learn from our individual customer groups on how we can work together to better serve Tennessee’s low-income families.

Summer is here, and we are committed to ensuring Tennessee families have access to nutritious food during the summer months. The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) recently announced the Summer Nutrition Initiative, which provides a one-time $120 payment directly to eligible families in need across 13 counties beginning Friday, June 12, 2026. The approved counties include Bledsoe, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Fentress, Hancock, Humphreys, Jackson, Lewis, Marshall, Moore, Sequatchie, and Smith.

In addition, TDHS’s Summer Food Service Program offers meal sites across the state to help support children and families throughout the summer. No application is required for meals available at most summer meal sites. Tennessee families can also use the USDA Summer Meals Site Finder to locate SUN Meals or SUN Meals To-Go options in their city or county. Please use this link to find a summer meal site in your area: https://www.fna.usda.gov/sfsp/sitefinder.

Following recent approval by the Tennessee General Assembly, Tennessee will also transition to participation in the Summer EBT program beginning in 2027, further expanding food assistance for eligible families during the summer months. More information regarding this program will be available as we get closer to the date.

At TDHS, our priority is to strengthen Tennessee by ensuring families have consistent access to healthy, nutritious food and the resources they need to thrive, especially during times when school-based meal access may be limited. Our commitment continues, and we appreciate the many community partners that make this effort possible, as well as the TDHS staff that facilitate each program. For more information on how you can help, or the availability of food resources, visit the TDHS website at tn.gov/humanservices.

 

TDHS provides a $120 one-time payment directly to families in need across 13 counties through the Summer Nutrition Initiative starting Friday, June 12, 2026.

The initiative first launched in 2025 as a state-funded effort to provide additional nutrition assistance to serve families in underserved counties.

The Summer Nutrition Initiative serves eligible children in 13 counties who are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Families First - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program.

The program will use existing EBT cards to provide the one-time payment to families.

Thirteen counties were identified through Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) data as having limited access to SFSP meal sites and thus qualify to receive the one-time payment. The approved counties include: Bledsoe, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Fentress, Hancock, Humphreys, Jackson, Lewis, Marshall, Moore, Sequatchie, and Smith.

The one-time TN Summer Nutrition Initiative benefit is available to children who are:

Eligible households do not need to apply for this benefit. Families in the targeted counties will automatically receive the benefit on their existing EBT cards beginning June 12, 2026. Benefits can be used anywhere EBT is accepted for purchasing food.

For more information on the Summer Nutrition Initiative, please visit: https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/summer-nutrition-initiative.html

Following recent approval by the Tennessee General Assembly, Tennessee will transition to participation in the Summer EBT program beginning in 2027.

TDHS has opened its applications for the 2026-27 Families First Community Grant Program, an initiative that will make available approximately $4 million in funding to non-profit organizations providing direct services to strengthen Tennessee families in need and promote self-sufficiency. Qualifying non-profit organizations are invited to apply  through 5PM Central Time Thursday, July 9, 2026.

The Families First Community Grant program was created as an additional method to invest TANF funds in ways to help low-income families overcome barriers and help them move towards sustainable economic stability. The grants will support a wide range of services in the areas of education, health and well-being, economic stability and fostering safe, stable, and nurturing relationships.

TDHS encourages all community-based, non-profit organizations ready to play a central role in the design and implementation of programs that address the unique problems of low-income families in their communities and fosters at least one of the federal TANF goals to submit an application for a Families First Community Grant. The department is focused on partnering with organizations that can provide family-focused solutions that demonstrate measurable impacts designed with the goal of transforming Tennessee’s safety net by growing the capacity of vulnerable families to self-sufficiency and economic prosperity. For more information, visit https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/tanf-opportunity-act/toa-grant-opportunities/families-first-community-grants.html

Once school is out, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) begins. The SFSP is a partnership between the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, TDHS, and community-based organizations to provide free meals to children in their communities throughout the summer.

This program, also known as SUN Meals, aims to ensure children 18 and younger, who benefit from school meal programs, continue to have access to nutritious meals during the summer months. The program traditionally runs from the end of May to August when the next school year begins.

No application is required for summer meals available at most meal sites.

Tennessee families can use the USDA Summer Meals Site finder to search for SUN Meals or SUN Meals to-Go in their city or county. Use the button below to find a meal site using the USDA Meal Site Finder.

Summer is here, which means it is time for the Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge!

Each summer, First Lady Maria Lee invites Tennessee students to devote a portion of their summer break to serving their community through the summer challenge. The challenge is open to rising kindergarteners through rising sixth graders from June 1st to August 1st.

More than 3,500 kids have participated in the summer challenge since 2019, serving 15,291 collective hours in Tennessee communities.

All students who complete the challenge will receive a certificate of recognition signed by First Lady Maria Lee. The top participants of the challenge will receive an invitation to a carnival celebration at the Tennessee Residence hosted by Governor Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee to honor their hard work! 

Registration for this year’s summer’s challenge is now open! Use the below for more information.

 A life-changing mental health program for children and youth is getting a big infusion of support thanks to Tennessee’s signature music festival.  The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is donating $100,000 to support the School-Based Behavioral Health Liaison program in nine schools across all three school districts in Coffee County.

School-Based Behavioral Health Liaisons are masters-level therapists who are employed by grantee community mental health centers and funded at the state level through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS).  Liaisons work in partnership with their local school districts to help students who are struggling with mental health challenges, serious emotional disturbance, and substance use issues with parent permission.  Bonnaroo’s investment will help create dedicated counseling and wellness spaces in nine schools across Coffee County where these counselors, along with school social workers and other mental health professionals, can meet privately with students and provide care and support.

With tens of millions in new state funding in recent years, Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly have expanded the School-Based Behavioral Health Liaisons to a few dozen positions in only a handful of counties to 400 funded positions covering all 95 Tennessee Counties.  In Coffee County, there are four Liaisons employed by Volunteer Behavioral Health working in five schools.  In the most recent state fiscal year, the more than 100 Coffee County students received targeted, intensive supports from a liaison, and more than 1,600 students, faculty, and staff received training from a liaison.  Statewide, more than 23,000 students received mental health counseling services from a liaison.

Learn more about the School-Based Behavioral Health Liaison program at this link: TN.gov/behavioral-health/sbbh.

The Department of Disability and Aging (DDA) will be accepting applications for competitive grant funding for senior centers. This one-time grant funding is intended to support senior centers in providing older adults with access to resources, activities and social connections.

The Tennessee General Assembly has provided $5 million to be distributed to senior centers throughout the state. This year marks the sixth consecutive year of funding through the Tennessee General Assembly to support the vital work of senior centers in improving the lives of older adults in their communities.

Senior centers are invited to apply for grant funding ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. The grant funding is encouraged to fund the following goals:

In order to qualify for grant funding, the organization must meet the following definition of a senior center:

The grant is not available to individuals or to long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Applications opened for submission on June 22, 2026. Applications must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Central Time on Friday, August 7, 2026. Grant funding must be spent by March 31, 2028.

Learn more about the grants at the DDA website: https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/disability-and-aging/resource-directory/grants.html

What: Parents and Partners Connect – Child Support

A virtual question and answer session with Child Support professionals from the Tennessee Department of Human Services. These online sessions are an opportunity for Tennessee parents to get answers about Child Support Services from TDHS with topics including services offered by the TDHS, case classifications, the parties involved in child support, the application processes, and problem-solving.

 

If you’re new to child support in Tennessee or have questions about related services, this is a great opportunity to ask questions with experts.

 

When: July 15, 2026, 11:00am - 12:00pm CT

Where: Online; Register Here

 

At TDHS, we are consistently looking for dedicated and enthusiastic individuals who are eager to make a meaningful difference in our state. If you are interested in joining our team, please review new career opportunities on our website.

Detailed listings on all open positions (Preferred and Executive Service) can be found at https://www.tn.gov/careers/apply-here.html. Preferred Service job postings through the Tennessee Department of Human Resources (DOHR) open on Thursday and close on the following Wednesday evening at 11:59 pm CST, depending on the length of the requisition.

Office of General Counsel

Associate Counsel 

Davidson County - 78519 (Closing Date 7/6/2026)    

 

Legal Assistant

Davidson County - 78673 (Closing Date 7/6/2026)    

 

Child Care and Community Services

APS Investigative Specialist 1*  

McNairy County - 78178 (Closing Date 06/29/2026)

 

DHS Program Specialist      

Knox County - 78465 (Closed Date 6/29/2026)

Davidson County (SW) - 78459 (Closed Date 6/29/2026)

 

Family Assistance and Child Support

DHS Program Specialist    

Davidson County – 78466 (Closing Date 6/29/2026)    

 

This Newsletter will be distributed on the last Wednesday of each month, and we kindly ask that all news be approved by leadership and submitted at least three weeks in advance.

Let’s coordinate, share ideas, and learn from our individual customer groups on how we can work together to better serve Tennessee’s low-income families.

You are receiving this email because you are a partner of a TDHS administered program, communications partner, state agency partner, or have signed up to receive our emails through our website or by contacting one of our staff members.