For some children, summer break is an exciting time to sleep in and play outside, but for others, it could mean they will be going to sleep hungry or worrying about where their next meal will come from.
As a parent and caregiver to 6 children myself, I often dread when the summer months are creeping up and I have to rework my budget to be able to afford breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the kids. For many like me, this can prove especially challenging with the price of groceries steadily rising. During the summer, my children are eating 3 meals at home and snacking throughout the day, as opposed to eating one meal and a snack at home during the school year.
So it was a relief to many families when Congress approved the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program, a multi-billion-dollar plan to help low- or no-income families struggling to put food on the table during the summer months. The program will begin this summer and will provide eligible families with an additional $40 per month, adding up to $120 per kid for the summer months. This assistance will alleviate the stress of buying extra groceries and will allow many families to enjoy the summer.
Although the Summer EBT program benefits our most vulnerable populations and will help significantly decrease food insecurity for many families this summer, over a dozen Republican-led states decided to opt out of the program leaving low-to-no-income families who live in these states facing food insecurity.
The states opting out of the program include Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming. All the states declining to participate in the Summer EBT program are led by Republican governors. The pattern raises a question about their commitment to the family values they espouse. There’s no good reason why states, especially those with a significant number of vulnerable families, would choose to decline a program created to alleviate food insecurity.
Iowa Governor Reynolds seems to believe that parents don’t know how to make healthy food choices for their own kids, while others like Nebraska Governor Pillen have said he doesn’t “believe in welfare.” Meanwhile, 11% of children in Iowa experience food insecurity and the denial of this program puts them at greater risk.
Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the summer EBT assistance program are programs specifically designed to support nutrition among low-income individuals and families, including children. These programs help families gain access to healthy food options, offer nutritional education, and address food insecurity. Studies have also shown that children with access to an adequate diet through SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participation can lead to improved health outcomes by lowering rates of malnutrition and reducing the proportion of time obese as a child.
Ultimately, despite whatever mental gymnastics they’re attempting, these Republican leaders are leaving thousands of families without the support they need. The truth is that additional EBT support to low-and no-income families provided extra food benefits throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and proved to be helpful to families like my own.
During the pandemic, my kids were eating all 3 meals at home and our grocery expenses nearly doubled. The additional EBT benefits provided us with the means to offer our children well-balanced meals and ensured they didn’t have to miss out on snacks. It helped keep my family afloat and alleviated some of the financial load we were facing, allowing us to focus on other priorities, like keeping our family healthy. Without the extra EBT benefits, we would have been forced to make cuts in other areas of our budget, potentially causing us to fall behind on car payments or having to cut our kids’ extra curricular activities, like sports, to provide meals.
As we continue to face rising food costs it is crucial to advocate for programs like Summer EBT that support the most vulnerable members of our society. The decision and reasoning to opt out of the summer EBT assistance program by certain states led by Republican governors raises concerns about the priorities and values being upheld by these leaders. It is essential to consider the consequences of these choices and the potential long-term effects on the families who will miss out on the benefits they could have received.
As a resident of Montana, I initially had concerns that our state might opt out of the program due to our Republican governor’s previous denial of a similar program. However, thanks to organizing, Governor Gianforte had a shift in stance and ultimately decided to partake in the Summer EBT program.
A rally was previously held at the Capitol to gain attention of the governor and show him that the people he serves were in favor of the P-EBT he had denied. Rep. Laura Smith D-Helena spoke at that rally and said, “It’s well past time the Governor stood up for hungry kids in our state, especially after rejecting ten million dollars last summer that would have fed 50,000 children in communities all across the state.” I believe the rallying in Montana helped sway Governor Gianforte’s decision this time and it also demonstrates the willingness Governor’s have to reconsider policies and prioritize the needs of the state’s youth, something all governors are capable of. Having access to the additional EBT benefits gives Montana families a piece of mind and creates a healthy relationship with food by giving kids access to nutritional meals.
In states that have opted out of the Summer EBT program, individuals facing food insecurity can explore alternative existing programs, or federal summer food programs to access meals and snacks. The most important thing you can do if you want to ensure that children and families have access to nutritious meals during the summer, as well as programs that benefit them, is to make sure you are engaging with local representatives and community organizations to raise awareness and push for improvements. It is important to remember that hunger affects many families and community efforts can make a difference.