15 GOP-Led States Opt Out Of Federal Food Aid Aimed At Children

Fifteen Republican-led states have declined to participate in a new federal program from the Biden administration aimed at combating food insecurity among low-income families.

Under the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, set to launch this year, states will provide $120 per eligible child to families in the U.S. to help cover food costs through the summer months, when many children are out of school. The Summer EBT program was approved by Congress in 2022 and aims to improve food and nutrition security, access and affordability.

The Department of Agriculture announcedon Wednesday that 35 states, all five U.S. territories and four tribes had opted to join the program. But 15 states led by Republican governors have rejected it, The New York Times reported, meaning millions of children are set to lose out on benefits.

The states that decided not to participate are Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming.

Summer EBT is expected to provide nearly $2.5 billion in grocery benefits to as many as 21 million children across the 35 states that signed up.

“No kid should have to spend their summer hungry, or without nutritious food,” Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said in a statement. “Summer EBT is a giant step forward in meeting the needs of our nation’s children and families throughout the year, and especially in the summer months.”

Republican governors of the states that opted out of the program had varying concerns, some citing the administrative costs and nutritional standards.

“In the end, I fundamentally believe that we solve the problem, and I don’t believe in welfare,” Nebraska Gov. Jim