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.

  • themeatbridge
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    2611 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
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      511 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)