Why some governors turned down a food assistance program for children in their states

Amna Nawaz:

A new federal food assistance program is aiming to reduce child hunger by giving low-income families money for summer groceries. But only those who live in certain states will have access to that relief.

John Yang explains.

John Yang:

Many children who qualify for free or reduced school lunches would lose that benefit when the school year ended. But now a new program aims to bridge that gap by giving needy families $40 a month for each child who's eligible while the school is not in session, money to buy food at grocery stores, farmer's markets, or other approved outlets.

It's called Summer EBT, for Electronic Benefits Transfer, because the money is electronically loaded onto cards like debit cards; 35 states have signed up for the program, aiding an estimated 21 million children. But 15 other states have said no, excluding about eight million children.

Crystal Fitzsimons is director of child nutrition programs for the Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy group that works to reduce poverty-related hunger.

Crystal, how big a problem is it for needy families to lose that benefit when school's not in session?

Crystal Fitzsimons, Food Research and Action Center: Yes, well, so we have millions of families who rely on free and reduced-price school lunch during the school year.

And when the school bell rings, they lose access to those meals. And during the summer, we see an increase in food insecurity. We see kids gaining more weight. And there's just a tremendous amount of stress on families when they need to replace those breakfasts and lunches that they could rely on during the school year.

So it's a huge hardship. And the summer EBT program, like you said, is just an amazing new opportunity to make sure that kids are not going hungry during the summer.

John Yang:

Before this program, was there any way for children to get free or reduced-price lunches?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

Well, we have the summer meals program, and that will continue. And in a lot of ways, it's an amazing program. Often, it combines activities and enrichment for kids, along with the meals.

But it served only a fraction of the kids who relied on free and reduced-price school meals during the school year. And, as a result, we saw food and security go up. So, Summer EBT really is designed to kind of bridge that gap.

John Yang:

And in the other programs, they'd have to go to a location, rather than have the money go directly to the parents.

Crystal Fitzsimons:

That's exactly right.

So it's great when there is a site in the community, and there's also — families are going to be able to pick up meals too in rural areas this summer. But Summer EBT really is kind of the easiest way to get resources to families to purchase food.

John Yang:

The 15 states that opted out of this program, what reasons did they give for doing that?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

So there were a lot of reasons, and they can come into the program in 2025. So the door is open, and we really encourage them to consider it.

But it is a relatively new program, and so states are implementing it for the first time this summer. And so some states just needed a little more time. States also have to provide 50 percent of the admin costs. And so it's taking states a little bit more time to figure out where that money is coming from. But we are hopeful that, by 2025, all the states will be in the program.

John Yang:

Did some governors have philosophical differences with this?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

Well, there were a couple of governors who did come out and express concerns about the program, Iowa and Nebraska.

But we are hopeful that when they take another look at the program, they will reconsider it, because some of the things that they said, like that it was a pandemic era program, really, that's just not true. We have had an issue with summer hunger since I have started working at FRAC 25 years ago. And it continues every summer when families lose access to those meals.

So, hopefully, in 2025, those states will actually take advantage of this tool to make sure that the kids in their state aren't going hungry.

John Yang:

But, for this summer, there are 15 states that have not — that opted out. You have millions of children beyond the reach of this program. What are your concerns and worries about those children?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

Well, the concern is that food insecurity will go up again in those states during the summer.

But we do encourage families to access the summer meals program. Those are still available in those states. And they do provide an important resource for families.

John Yang:

One of the governors who said no was Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa. She said that, rather than creating a new program with what she said would be a new bureaucracy, she thought the administration should give the state's flexibility under current programs, so they could do this on their own.

What do you say to that?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

Well, I would say that the Summer EBT program is a program that has been piloted for more than a decade. And the pilots have shown that food insecurity goes down when families have access to it and nutrition goes up.

So it's not — it is technically a new program, in that it is available to all states nationwide this summer, but it has been piloted because we knew that there was a problem during the summer, and Congress did act about 10 to 12 years ago to actually pilot it. And those evaluations just show what an amazing program it is.

John Yang:

Earlier, you said that, during the summer, children gain weight. Is that because they're eating unhealthily?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

During the summer, kids lose access to free and reduced-price school meals, which do have nutrition standards and do provide some of the healthiest meals that kids are eating.

And so, during the summer, kids can be less active. I know a lot of people think that kids are out at the park and we have these visions of what it's like for the summer for kids, but they may be less active. And then, if families are struggling to put food on the table, if you provide more resources to them, then they're likely going to spend it on healthier food too.

John Yang:

Looking more broadly beyond just children, schoolchildren, where do we stand on food insecurity now in this country for just the general population?

Crystal Fitzsimons:

Yes.

Well, so, food insecurity did go up in 2022, the most recent data that we have. It continues to stay with us. And there are a lot of ways to combat it. But one of the easiest ways to combat it is to give families more resources to purchase food.

John Yang:

Crystal Fitzsimons of the Food Research and Action Center, thank you very much.

Crystal Fitzsimons:

Great. Thank you for having me.