Patricia Robles of Cazares Farms hands out bags to patrons at the Everett Farmers Market across from the Everett Station in Everett in June 2023. A new federal program will provide eligible families with EBT cards to use at grocery stores and farmers markets to supplement summer meals. Children while they are not at school. (Annie Barker/Herald file photo)
Herald Editorial Committee
Nutritious meals shouldn’t be among the things Washington state school children have to worry about, especially homework, gym class, and coots.
For more kids, that’s no longer the case.
Starting this school year, children in public schools where 40% or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals will receive free breakfast, lunch, or both at school without proving eligibility for federally compensated meals. You can now request it. With the passage of the 2023 bill, free or reduced-price meals will now be available. But a bill seeking to expand that to all children did not move forward this year.
The Legislature should further consider expanding access to free meals to all students and eliminating the possibility of students going hungry in the next legislative session as it prepares a new two-year budget.
But that program only covers about nine months of the year, and for many children in Washington state (an estimated 550,000 people), the summer months can literally be lean months. . That won’t be necessary this summer, thanks to Congress’ approval of a federal program in 2022. In the state, it’s a summer electronic benefit transfer program for children called SUN Bucks. The program offers eligible families, including those already enrolled in free and reduced-price meal programs, an EBT card loaded with $120 for each child to use at grocery stores and farmers markets this summer. Provide one ticket per person.
The program targets families at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line ($57,720 for a family of four and $47,676 for a family of three) and already provides basic food assistance, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. , or sent to families receiving free gifts. or reduced-price meals at school. Those who meet the financial requirements but are not participating in any other program may apply for the SUN Bucks program.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a key sponsor of the federal law, explained the need to fill summer breaks for children’s nutritional needs.
“There is this huge gap that is impacting learning,” Murray told the WA Standard.
It’s no secret that learning requires a good breakfast and lunch. Ask any mother out there. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports mothers and believes that eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function and memory, reduced absenteeism, and improved mood. This is supported by extensive research, particularly with preschoolers, with 8 of the 12 studies reviewed showing a significant positive effect on cognitive performance in well-fed children. I see what is shown.
There is also evidence that improved access to school nutrition through state and federally funded programs may improve children’s overall health and reduce the incidence of childhood obesity.
And ask your mom again. Even if it costs an extra $40 per month per child, how much does it cost to increase your grocery budget and provide healthy meals?
But even though the federal government funds the EBT cards themselves, 14 states with Republican governors or Republican-controlled legislatures have withdrawn from the program, including Idaho and Alaska. Participation required states to share modest administrative costs 50-50 with the federal government. Washington has allocated $12 million over the next two years to support this program.
However, the opt-outs by these states, many of which are in states with some of the highest levels of family poverty in the United States, have resulted in approximately 10 million eligible children, out of an estimated 31 million in the U.S., having no access to groceries. That means you won’t receive the $40 monthly allowance for farmers markets. Produce.
Some states reasonably cite technical issues. The federal government gave each state a short deadline to decide whether to participate. However, most people were candid about their reasons for refusing to distribute aid to their families, citing it as “welfare.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said the summer EBT program is a duplicative “Biden administration program” that will “cause even more bureaucracy for families.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hid her partisanship as she scolded the EBT card, saying it “does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity is an epidemic.” refuted evidence that it could have a significant effect on .
Note that Republican governors in 13 other states have actually joined the program, putting the welfare of children above politics.
“It is my administration’s best interest to ensure that Arkansans, especially children, do not go hungry,” Gov. Sarah Sanders said in a release.
But states rejecting summer EBT programs are cutting off expanded unemployment benefits for 2021 and expanding Medicaid eligibility for lower-income health insurance, as the pandemic remains a drag on employment. It’s no coincidence that it’s part of the same state that has rejected the law. For adults with income, the federal government would still foot 90% of the bill.
It’s another thing to see a gift horse in the mouth. Some refuse it without even lifting the horse’s lips.
As with Medicaid expansion, it is not too late for states to reconsider denying EBT programs in summer 2025. And perhaps, after putting the presidential election behind them, more state officials may feel more comfortable choosing to participate.
Two-thirds of eligible children and their families in the United States, including those in Washington state, will have better access to food during the summer.
But there are good reasons why basic food security should have been provided to every child in the country.
