A parents’ advocacy group wants FL and other states to implement a summer meal program

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More than 3,000 people have signed a petition urging Gov. Ron DeSantis and the governors of 13 other states that turned down a federal program that provides food assistance to low-income families when schools are out to reconsider their decision.

The Summer EBT program, which starts in June, gives low-income families $120 for each school-aged child in an electronic benefit transfer to a food assistance debit card, according to States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau.

While Allison Johnson, the program director of ParentsTogether Action, recognizes that it is unlikely any of the 14 states that turned down the program would have enough time to launch it this year, she said the petition launched on May 21 is a call to action for governors ahead of the August 15 deadline for officials to notify the U.S. Department of Agriculture whether they will partake in the summer of 2025.

“We were hearing just a lot of frustration, and, frankly, anger from families who are finding right now money is not going as far at the grocery store, and it’s already sort of hard enough making sure that there’s enough food on the table to feed their families,” Johnson said. “So then there is this sort of additional added insult to injury that this $120 per child would have been available, and it is available for most children across the country, but that certain governors had just said no thank you to the money.”

Under the program, the federal government is responsible for paying for all the funds given to families and 50% of the administrative costs. The USDA estimated that more than 2 million children were eligible.

Johnson pointed to Louisiana as an example. In February, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services Secretary David Matlock announced the state wouldn’t run the summer meal program, but lawmakers decided to fund the program at the beginning of May, according to Axios New Orleans.

“Also saw the news just a couple weeks ago that Louisiana had sort of belatedly decided to implement the program,” she said. “So, now is sort of a key moment for public pressure in those states to try to ensure that kids will have access to that really vital additional money for lunch next year.”

So far, 3,216 people have signed the petition, which ParentsTogether Action plans to send to DeSantis and the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming.

Earlier this month, dozens of anti-hunger, faith-based and children advocacy groups sent a letter to DeSantis and the Florida Department of Children and Families demanding that they apply for Summer EBT for 2025.

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