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.

  • @Maggoty
    70•1 year ago

    Some kids are fat so poor kids should starve?

    Holy shit GOP.

    • @NotMyOldRedditName
      41•1 year ago

      There’s a very good chance the kids that are overweight are overweight in part because the parents can’t afford better food as junk food is often cheaper. This could just worsen the problem.

      • @Maggoty
        9•1 year ago

        Yup. Not to mention, distended bellies are also a symptom of malnourishment. These are the people who will point at starving kids in Africa and claim they’re fat.