Ref AP News: https://apnews.com/article/iowa-summer-ebt-food-assistance-0e878c5c0fc9dd0dd55622cb22a82561.

Iowa has decided not to participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program, which provides $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with food costs while school is out. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education announced this decision, with Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds stating that federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and do not provide long-term solutions for issues impacting children and families. Reynolds also expressed concerns about the EBT card not promoting nutrition and contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic.

States participating in the federal program are required to cover half of the administrative costs, which would amount to an estimated $2.2 million in Iowa. Some state lawmakers, such as Democratic Sen. Izaah Knox of Des Moines, have voiced their opposition to the decision, calling it “cruel and short-sighted” and expressing concerns about the impact on children and families in Iowa.

Nebraska has also decided not to participate in the Summer EBT program, which would cost the state about $300,000 annually in administrative costs. However, Nebraska will continue participating in a different federal program called the Summer Food Service Program, which combines programming like reading, physical activity, and nutrition education with food assistance.

Dear GOP: You cannot be pro-hunger and also claim to be pro-life.

Dear So-Called MAGA “Christians”: Matthew 25:35-40.

And, Reynolds would be against any long-term solution that provided decent, living-wages to folks, along with affordable (or, free) daycare. So, she’s a pretty terrible piece of work.

Nebraska has a history of incompetence when it comes to finances and child welfare.