Iowa will not participate in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family over the summer to help with food costs while school is out.

Iowa will not participate this summer in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with food costs while school is out, state officials have announced.

The state has notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education said in a Friday news release.

“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,” Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the news release.

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A bipartisan group of Nebraska lawmakers have urged the state to reconsider, saying Summer EBT would address the needs of vulnerable children and benefit the state economically, the Journal Star reported.

  • AeroLemming@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    So you mean any rich asshole could just feed every kid in Iowa for a fraction of a fraction of their wealth, but isn’t? Eat the fucking rich.

    • Vent@lemm.ee
      1·
      1 year ago

      $40 is not enough to feed a kid for an entire month, and it’s only for low-income kids, not all kids. And it’s only for the summer, not year-round. It’s a good thing and a no-brainer, but it’s not feeding every kid in the state. It’s not even completely feeding the kids it benefits.