Nebraska lawmakers vow to reverse governor’s refusal of $18M in federal child food funding

An Omaha lawmaker is pushing legislation to force Nebraska to join a federal program that will give $18 million to feed an estimated 150,000 children at risk for experiencing hunger when schools are closed this summer.

Gov. Jim Pillen rejected the funding in December, citing his disdain for welfare programs, and claimed an adequate summer food distribution program was already in place. Nebraska is one of 15 states that has refused the federal food program funding, including Wyoming and Texas with a single commonality: all red states with Republican governors.

Following widespread outrage from the public and several Nebraska food banks, Democratic state Sen. Jen Day introduced a bill requiring the Cornhusker State to opt-in to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s program. The legislation has bipartisan support, including from Republican state Sen. Ray Aguilar, who has prioritized nutritious meals for the young, elderly and most vulnerable.

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“To see a state like ours, one of the nation’s leading agricultural states teetering so close to the bottom in food insecurity signifies the failure in achieving a common objective … ensuring every child in Nebraska enjoys a safe and healthy upbringing,” Day said in the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee hearing for the bill last Thursday.

In 2022, 12.1% of households in Nebraska experienced food insecurity, above the 11.2% national rate, according to a survey by the USDA.

Kari Smith, a single mom from Omaha, testified before the committee and explained how the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program helps keep her 14-year-old son fed when school is out.

“These kids have weathered COVID and have been resilient through a global crisis … they are isolated, scared, and unable to grow up with normal childhoods like the rest of us have,” Smith told the committee. “The least we can do is support them now by making sure they have enough to eat.”

Nebraska state Sen. Jen Day

The federal program is expected to provide about 21 million children across 35 states who qualify for $40 a month or $120 for the whole summer on a pre-loaded card to purchase groceries. Launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the funding was made permanent by Congress in November 2022. Currently, 35 states, five U.S. territories, and four tribes are participating, according to the USDA.

More: Some low-income kids will get more food stamps this summer. But not in these states.

Nebraska began participating in the program in 2021, and this summer will be the first since the start of the pandemic that the state will not have summer EBT.

Logan Nungesser, 15, of Lincoln, explained during her testimony how getting to and from meal sites can create an accessibility barrier for families, especially those in rural areas of the state who are hours away from sites.

“If a summer meal site does exist, the student shores the embarrassment and stigma of attending … do you remember being a teenager? This alone is enough for a student to decide not to show up,” Nungesser said.

Hoping to reduce the backlash for rejecting the EBT funding, Pillen released a statement that Nebraska would help at-risk kids get nutritious meals through the Summer Food Service Program, which provides meals around the community when school is in recess.

Day and other advocates argue that because Nebraska has large swathes of rural areas, the food sites are too far away for many needy families.

Brian Barks, CEO of Food Bank for the Heartland, said local food pantries are already struggling to meet growing demand, and not having a summer EBT program will put more stress on them.

“If the state chooses not to participate, the decision will have a ripple effect on food banks and pantry partners that are already struggling to address the ongoing need,” Barks said in his testimony to the committee. “To walk away from this opportunity to backstop our children is deplorable.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska lawmakers vow to reverse governor’s refusal of $18M in federal child food funding