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.

…

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.

  • @chitak166
    8•11 months ago

    I know this might sound weird, but $40/month is definitely enough to cover the costs of feeding a child.

    It won’t be luxury foods, and you’ll have to prepare them yourself, but your child will be able to get the nutrition they need.

    I wish the government would give me $40/month just so I can feed myself, lol.

    • themeatbridge
      26•11 months ago

      Being poor is expensive.

      you’ll have to prepare them yourself

      Requiring time, equipment, space, and energy. Work two jobs a day and tell me how easy it is to save money making rice and beans at the end of the day.

      I wish the government would give me $40/month just so I can feed myself, lol.

      I wish that for you, too. Nobody should go hungry, and if my taxes can help you out, I would be thrilled to see our government spend money making your life liveable.

      • @teamevil
        5•11 months ago

        I hate that people forget that some of the races we pay are to help people…but I really really really hate that companies like Walmart plan on their employees needing government programs instead of proper wages…they should pay more. But honestly I’ll never have a problem with proper nutrition…I just hope no trash people are aiming to profit off the assistance. (CEO of Walmart and like companies)

    • @ThunderWhiskers
      15•11 months ago

      but $40/month is definitely enough to cover the costs of feeding a child.

      $40 of what, rice and cheese slices? As the father of two young children I find this to be highly unlikely.

      • @AstridWipenaugh
        10•11 months ago

        You can budget for cheese on $1.29 a day? You could get rice and black beans twice a day for that, but not much else. I wouldn’t consider that “definitely enough”…

    • @cynarEnglish
      9•11 months ago

      I wish the government would give me $40/month just so I can feed myself, lol.

      That’s the basis of UBI. Rather than spending a lot on management and bureaucracy, and still missing those most in need, instead just give everyone the baseline and tax slightly more. It provides a natural alternative to various aid and support systems. They all get rolled into 1. It also feels fairer to people.

      And before the inflation argument is brought up, it’s easy to counter. You just have a % tax, with a flat payout, and run it as a fairly closed loop. The income growth line gets shallower, but is flattened at the bottom. No new money is entering the system, so no additional inflation. It also counters the “no-one will work” argument. If people drop out of the workforce, the fund’s income will drop, this will reduce payouts and encourage more work from people.