Georgia Opts Out of Federal Summer Program That Would Feed Children in Need
Georgia will not participate in a summer program that would help feed children in need as the state has failed to opt in prior to this year's final deadline.
Summer EBT, also known as Sun Bucks, provides qualifying families with $120 for each eligible child in their household for the summer months. Congress approved the program in 2022 to help feed children who receive free and reduced-price lunches at school during summer break, when public schools are closed or have limited hours.
Feb. 15 was the final deadline for states to notify the U.S. Department of Agriculture if they planned to participate this summer. Georgia is one of the 11 states that will not take part in the program, according to USDA's website.
This marks the second consecutive year Georgia will not participate in Summer EBT, which could particularly impact Black Georgians amid food banks experiencing a rise in demand for assistance.
'Right now, the demand we're facing is about 60% higher than it was three years ago,' said Kyle Waide, CEO of Atlanta Community Food Bank. 'We're serving around 250,000 households a month, which is about 100,000 more than we were serving in 2022.'
Waide said Black Georgia residents are among the demographics hit hardest, saying they're two to three times more likely to experience food insecurity than white residents.
Gov. Brian Kemp's office shared concerns with Capital B Atlanta last year about the program's economics and nutritional value.
Garrison Douglas, Kemp's press secretary, said last week that there were no updates on the state's stance on the program, calling Summer EBT a 'pandemic-era, Biden administration program that lacks nutritional standards and fiscal accountability.'
An estimated 1.2 million children living in Georgia would be eligible for Summer EBT, according to the Food Research and Action Center.
Waide said financial factors like inflation have led to more people seeking food assistance than ever before.
The cost of groceries in the Atlanta area has climbed by roughly 25% since February 2020, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While the state points to its two feeding initiatives — Seamless Summer and Happy Helpings — as sufficient for providing meals to children during the summer, these programs have gaps. Fifty-six counties — a majority of which are rural — didn't have a Happy Helpings feeding site in 2024.
'Recruiting qualified nonprofit organizations that are willing to operate and provide meals is the largest obstacle,' said Cindy Kicklighter, an official with the Department of Early Care and Learning. 'Many organizations do not meet the financial viability or administrative capabilities to operate the program.'
But nonprofit organizations that Georgia relies on to help feed those in need of food assistance are straining to meet the demand.
'We're now distributing more than 500,000 pounds of food a day,' said Waide. 'Just imagine 20 tractor trailer loads of food going out from our facility every single day. That's the sort of volume that we're talking about. … We don't think this level of demand is going to change anytime soon.'
In an email to Capital B Atlanta, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, who represents Georgia's 6th Congressional District, said that the state's decision to opt out of the program and leave federal dollars on the table is 'indefensible.'
'Governor Kemp has missed deadline after deadline to provide our kids with reliable access to summer meals through the federal Summer EBT program,' said McBath.
McBath — along with several other Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock — signed and sent a letter to Kemp earlier this month, pushing him to make Georgia one of the 39 states to participate in Summer EBT for 2025. The lawmakers previously sent a letter about the program to the governor last year.
'I have now led three separate letters to the governor about this and have not received a substantive response to our concerns,' said McBath. 'I will not be silent when the health of our children is at stake, and my Democratic colleagues and I in the congressional delegation stand ready to work with the governor's office to make sure Georgia's kids are not continuing to be left out of this program.'
The post Georgia Opts Out of Federal Summer Program That Would Feed Children in Need appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
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