Iowa (KCRG) – Last week, Governor Reynolds announced the state would opt out of a summertime food assistance program for students this year, rejecting federal aid for the summer electronic benefits transfer, or EBT program.
Kaydee Cuesta and her four daughters started using the Summer EBT program after it launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives students who qualify for free and reduced lunches 40 dollars per month over the summer. She says she and her daughters enjoy grocery shopping, and picking out healthy foods to eat. “And it was so helpful, especially during the summer, especially to get everything that I needed for the kids, the healthier food, the better food,” says Cuesta.
But this summer, it won’t be an option for Iowa families, after the state announced it was declining the federal aid.
“Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic” stated Governor Reynolds. “HHS and the Department of Education have well-established programs in place that leverage partnerships with community-based providers and schools who understand the needs of the families they serve. If the Biden Administration and Congress want to make a real commitment to family well-being, they should invest in already existing programs and infrastructure at the state level and give us the flexibility to tailor them to our state’s needs.”
But as Cuesta points out, healthy food can be harder to come by. “Cheap food is junk food. Ramen is quick. Mac and cheese is quick,” says Cuesta. “To feed 4 kids at Panera would be $60. To feed 4 kids at McDonald’s is $20. That’s crazy. And people don’t realize that.”
And while Cuesta says she’s frustrated with the decision, she’s more worried for her friends and family who rely on this program. “For some of my friends and families who don’t have a support system, this was the biggest help during the summer,” says Cuesta. “My best friend calls me routinely because she’s like, ‘I don’t know…how I’m going to get groceries.’”
Cuesta says she’s also concerned the state doesn’t have a back-up plan in place to use other programs to support families.
In a statement to TV9, Kollin Crompton, spokesman for Reynolds said:
“We are exploring using federal ARP funds to both incentivize eligible but not yet participating school districts and other eligible sites to participate in existing USDA-funded summer feeding programs and participating schools districts to expand their programs. We are also exploring a number of initiatives that connect Medicaid-eligible Iowans to nutritious food they need to heal and thrive.”
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