Tennessee launches limited summer food program after rejecting millions in federal funds
The Tennessee Department of Human Services on Friday announced the plan to give a $120 one-time payment to eligible children — those already eligible for SNAP and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families participation — in 15 rural counties this summer.
'With this innovative step, we will go even further to provide food security to Tennessee children,' Tennessee Department of Human Services Commissioner Clarence Carter said in a statement. 'This approach will deliver a fiscally responsible strategy to reach families in underserved communities in the summer months.'
The new state program mimics a federal program that in recent years has given direct cash payments to nearly 700,000 Tennessee kids to help cover summer grocery costs.
But the majority of those kids will not benefit from the program this summer, after Lee declined to participate in the federal program going forward. In opting out, Tennessee effectively left more than $75 million in federal funding on the table.
"I don't see how they've done anything innovative here," said Signe Anderson, a senior director at the Tennessee Justice Center. The group made a last-minute push in recent weeks to lobby Lee to reverse course on the federal program.
"They've just limited the reach of a program that could have served all of the families with kids that are struggling with food insecurity during the summer," Anderson said.
Last year, Tennessee officials cited administrative costs as part of the reason for not moving forward with the program, though Democrats have criticized Lee and others for opting out over political optics. The summer cash program was widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic under the Biden administration, though it actually dates back as far as 2011. Tennessee first participated in an expanded pilot program in 2018 under the first Trump administartion.
Tennessee's administrative costs to administer the federal program, now called SUN Bucks, came to about $5 million in 2024. The state's share was likely to decrease in 2025, advocates said. Tennessee could also have been eligible for an additional grant to help offset some technology costs, had it opted in to the program before the deadline.
But even with the state's administrative outlay, the federal program had a significant return on investment for Tennesseans.
With Tennessee paying about $5 million to help run the program, every dollar the state paid into the program essentially drew down more than $14 to help feed Tennessee kids. The Food Research & Action Center also estimated those federal dollars generated at least $114 million in economic impact across the state.
With the new program, Tennessee is now paying more than half what it paid to adminster SUN Bucks while reaching far fewer Tennesseans.
With the $3 million allocation and $120 grants, the state's program could only serve a maximum of 25,000 kids, less than 4% than were served by the federal-state partnership.
"We hope they learn from this," Anderson said of the state and the option to participate in the federal program again in 2026. "I know we are going to hear from a lot of families this summer when they don't get the summer EBT benefit during a time when food prices continue to rise. A lot of families are going to be struggling this summer."
DHS said Lee will include funding for the program in his budget amendment, which will require final approval from the Tennessee General Assembly this spring.
The program will be open to eligible residents in Houston, Humphreys, Marshall, Moore, Sequatchie, Sumner, Benton, Carroll, Carter, Cocke, Fayette, Grainger, Johnson, Lauderdale and Rhea counties.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN school kids' food aid: Limited state help on meal costs this summer
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