Families with children of school age who have lower incomes may receive assistance from the national government to cover their grocery expenses during the summer, except if they reside in any of the 14 states that have declined to participate in the program this year.

The rejections are based on various reasons, all coming from states with Republican governors. These include disagreements with welfare programs on a philosophical level, difficulties with outdated computer systems, and preference for alternative summer nutrition programs that reach significantly fewer children.

Reworded: Otibehia Allen, a single mother of five from Clarksdale, Mississippi, is directly affected by this situation. Despite her income being too high to meet the requirements for certain government aid programs, she could have received $480 in assistance over the course of three months this summer if her state had chosen to participate.

“It would have been very beneficial for us, particularly with the boys,” Allen stated. “They are growing kids who have big appetites.”

Several states have declined federal funding due to either ideological beliefs or logistical issues. In the year 2021, 26 states terminated the increased unemployment benefits that were given to individuals during the COVID-19 crisis. 22 states have rejected the mostly federally funded expansion of Medicaid, which would have extended health insurance coverage to a greater number of low-income adults. However, 12 of these states have since changed their stance and expanded Medicaid.

The Summer EBT program, a response to increased child hunger when school is out, involves much less money. The federal government launched pilot versions in 2011, expanded it nationally during the pandemic and then Congress made it permanent within a spending bill adopted in December 2022. States must split the administrative costs 50/50, and the federal government funds the benefits, which are expected to cost $2.5 billion this year and help feed 21 million children.

There are an additional 10 million children who are eligible but reside in states that declined the funding.

During each of the three summer months, families with children who are part of the free or reduced-price school lunch program will receive $40 for each eligible child through an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. This money can only be used for purchasing groceries and food at farmers’ markets.

The income limits are determined by the size of the family. In most parts of the country, a family of three with a yearly income below approximately $46,000 would be eligible.

States were given until the conclusion of 2023 to determine if they would participate in the upcoming season. They are still eligible to enroll in subsequent years even if they opt out in 2024. Vermont intends to do so after implementing a new state computer system.

In December of 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture shared details with states about a spending measure that had been outlined a year prior. However, the interim final rules were not made public until Dec. 29, which some states found challenging for determining their participation.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission stated that their decision to opt out was influenced by delayed rulemaking and the need for lawmakers to approve funding for administrative costs. Texas legislators will not be meeting this year. Spokesperson Thomas Vazquez communicated via email that Texas may join at a later time.

Tennessee has chosen to participate in the lunch program for 2024, but has decided not to continue in 2025.

Similar to leaders in other states, the office of Republican Governor Bill Lee stated that the initiative is a benefit during the pandemic and that there are already other food programs in place.

But Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy group targeting hunger, has found that the main federally funded summer nutrition program doesn’t reach most qualified children. During the summer of 2022, it fed only one of every nine children served by the free or reduced-price lunch program nationwide during the 2021-2022 school year.

Megan Degenfelder, the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Wyoming, stated that she declined the Summer EBT card funds in order to prioritize the existing summer meals programs, which only require a small amount of state funding.

“I typically favor meals being distributed directly to children,” she stated to The Associated Press. “We are aware that this is taking place at the feeding sites.”

However, she expressed that the summer programs in her rural state require enhancements. In the year 2022, they provided approximately 9,400 lunches each day, which is only one-fifth of the average daily number for free and reduced price lunches during the 2021-2022 school year. Six out of Wyoming’s 23 counties do not have any sites available. Additionally, despite the federal government’s decision to allow families to take home a week’s worth of meals for their children last year, the sites in Wyoming only offered in-person meals.

Defenfelder stated that Wyoming would have incurred approximately $1.1 million in administrative costs for this year, and around $690,000 per year in the future.

At the time of the deadline, all of the states that rejected the proposal were governed by Republicans. However, Louisiana had a Democratic governor who was in his final week of his term.

In certain locations, the declines have been influenced by political bias.

In the state of Mississippi, which is known for having high rates of food insecurity among children, around 324,000 kids, including four of Allen’s own, would have been qualified for assistance.

The office of Republican Governor Tate Reeves deemed it a superfluous program of the federal government, arguing that if Democrats in Washington D.C. had their say, citizens would still be under lockdown with mandatory COVID vaccinations and mask requirements, leading to a surge in welfare recipients.

Allen, a transportation dispatcher and scheduler, believes that Reeves has misplaced priorities. She specifically referred to the state’s plan to enact an abortion ban in 2022.

Allen questioned, “Why are you so concerned about my uterus and the number of babies I am having or terminating? Why is that a concern when I am still responsible for feeding this child, but you are not assisting me with that?”

The denials have sparked criticism.

Republican Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska initially faced backlash for rejecting funds due to his belief against welfare. However, following a bill introduced by a Democratic legislator, he changed his stance and announced that the state will now be a part of the program. This decision was influenced by the personal accounts of hunger shared by high school students.

According to Lisa Davis, the senior vice president of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, she is confident that all states can be convinced to participate in the upcoming years.

She stated that childhood hunger is a unifying issue.

The states of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming are the only ones that have not yet joined.

Despite the lack of a method for funding local governments instead of states, officials in the two largest counties in Iowa are still asking for the rejected funds from the state.

Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa stated that it was not a permanent solution in their rejection.

The Republican stated that an EBT card does not contribute to promoting healthy eating habits, especially during a time when childhood obesity is a widespread issue.

However, Crystal FitzSimons, the director of school programs at the Food Research and Action Center, referenced studies showing that families tend to purchase healthier food options when their grocery subsidies are higher.

She expressed disappointment in the fact that children are going hungry, seeing it as a wasted chance.

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Mattise and Mulvihill provided coverage from Nashville, Tennessee and Cherry Hill, New Jersey respectively. Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina also contributed to the Associated Press report. Pollard is a member of Report for America’s Statehouse News Initiative, a nonprofit program that aims to address underreported topics by placing journalists in local newsrooms.