Parent Advisory: Deadline Looms for States to Decide if They’ll Enroll in Federal Program to Help Families Pay for Groceries During School Summer Vacation
14 Republican-led States Chose Politics Over Kids and Opted Out of Program for 2024
July 30, 2024 – This summer, millions of families across the country received a pre-loaded EBT card with $120 to help pay for groceries this summer. The program – SUN Bucks – was established this summer after President Biden signed a new law to extend the benefit to the 21 million kids nationwide.
The program is designed to help close the summer hunger gap when kids are on break and not getting free or reduced school meals. Families get $40 a month for each eligible school-age kid to help buy groceries, similar to how SNAP benefits are used.
Families first started getting summer assistance like this during the pandemic, and said it made a huge difference in helping stretch food budgets during the summer. After millions of parents came together to call for continued free school and summer meals, Congress passed a bill to make the Summer EBT program permanent.
14 States Said ‘No Thanks’ to Summer Meal Assistance in 2024
Unfortunately, 14 Republican-led states opted out of the funds for 2024, so families living in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, or Wyoming, did not have access to this program.
Why? Well, many of the Governors are just playing politics…and it’s kids who will pay the price. Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa tried to justify forcing kids to go hungry when she said: “An E.B.T. card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
The fact is studies showed that the program led to children eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains because the extra money helped families buy healthier foods.
Families across the country are working to push all Governors to take the federal money and give all kids who qualify access to Summer EBT. And it’s working – Louisiana reversed course and agreed to take part in the program in the spring of 2024. Alabama’s legislature in May approved $10 million for the state to participate in 2025.
Thousands of parents from the 13 states that have yet to join the SUN Bucks program have signed a petition urging their Governors to change course.