OMAHA, Neb.– Nebraska's Republican governor on Friday reiterated his rejection of $18 million in federal funding to help feed children who might otherwise go hungry while school is out.
Nebraska will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, Gov. Jim Pillen said in a written statement. That statement came as advocates for low-income children and families held a news conference outside the Governor's Mansion in Lincoln to call on Pillen to change his mind about applying for the program before the Jan. 1 deadline.
The program – part of the federal aid made available during the COVID-19 pandemic – would provide pre-loaded EBT cards to families whose children qualify for free and reduced-price lunches at school. Those families would receive $40 per eligible child per month during the summer. The cards can be used to purchase groceries, similar to how SNAP benefits are used.
“COVID-19 is over, and Nebraska taxpayers expect pandemic-era government relief programs to end as well,” Pillen said in his statement. Pillen announced on Dec. 19 that Nebraska would not participate in the program. criticism because he later defended that position at a press conference by saying: “I don't believe in welfare.”
Neighboring Iowa has also withdrawn from the program, with Republican Governor Kim Reynolds announcing that decision last week, saying, “An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
States participating in the federal program must cover half the administrative costs, which would cost Nebraska an estimated $300,000. Proponents of the program note that the administrative costs are more than offset by the $18 million benefit, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates would benefit 175,000 children in Nebraska who might otherwise go hungry some days in the summer would suffer.
The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed filed a petition Friday with more than 6,100 signatures from 230 Nebraska communities calling on the state to take advantage of the federal Summer EBT program. Many of those who signed the petition also added comments expressing how much the program is needed, especially in light of multi-year inflation that has exceeded the incomes of many households.
“Everything is expensive,” wrote a mother from Bruno, a small rural town in eastern Nebraska. “I'm a single mother who works full-time, and my budget is already spread so thinly. My son plays sports, and as he gets older, boy, he could almost eat a hole in the wall; it feels like it never stops. The extra money for food would free up money for things like bills and savings, and car maintenance.”
Pillen emphasized Friday that the state would continue to help food-insecure children through the Summer Food Service Program, which provides meals and snacks at various locations when school is not in session. Providing services on-site also allows providers to identify and report problems such as malnutrition, neglect and abuse in children, he said.
But critics say not all families have access to the on-site programs, especially in Nebraska's vast rural areas, where the locations can be many miles away from a struggling family.
“No child has ever said, 'I want to be born into a struggling family,'” said Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association — the state's largest teachers union. “Why should we even doubt that people and children deserve food?”
Preston Love Jr., a longtime Omaha community advocate, wondered Friday whether Pillen succumbed to political pressure in rejecting the federal funding.
“I know the governor a little bit, and he seems like a reasonable man. He is a man who is compassionate in conversations,” Love said. “This is out of character. So he clearly doesn't follow his heart. He follows his politics. He is becoming a victim of political practices, and there is no excuse for that when it comes to children.”
As of Friday, 28 other states and six other U.S. territories and Native American tribes had confirmed their participation, according to the USDA.