What it would have cost Louisiana to provide summer food benefits for poor children
26th February 2024 · 0 Comments
By Greg LaRose
Contributing Writer
(lailluminator.com) — The federal assistance Louisiana turned down to help provide food for low-income families over the summer would have cost the state less than $6 per eligible child to administer, based on cost figures officials provided.
The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) assistance program is providing $40 in both June and July for children who qualify for free school meals in the 36 states that are taking part. Louisiana is one of 14 that are not.
Summer EBT is a COVID-19 pandemic initiative that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to make permanent starting this summer. Its funds are placed on debit cards that can be used at grocery stores that accept the assistance.
The USDA calculated that some 594,000 Louisiana children would have received a combined $71 million in food aid had it taken part. The federal agency would have covered half of the state’s $7 million cost to run the program, leaving the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to cover the remaining $3.5 million.
“The vast majority of the projected cost of running a Summer EBT program would be the cost of card services through our EBT vendor for the addition,” DCFS spokesperson Heidi Kinchen said in an email.
The $3.5 million cost, which breaks down to $5.89 per child enrolled, would have been less than one percent of the $902 million DCFS budget for the current fiscal year.
DCFS Secretary David Matlock cited “self-sufficiency” in a Feb. 10 statement in which he explained why Louisiana would not take part in the Summer EBT program.
“Existing feeding programs remain in effect, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides about $166 million in benefits on average each month to over 880,000 Louisianans, including about 390,000 children,” Matlock said in his statement. “In addition, DCFS offers employment and training programs to provide off-ramps from poverty and help families become self-sufficient.”
Louisiana had until Thursday, Feb. 15, to make a final decision on whether it would accept the Summer EBT assistance. In December, Education Superintendent Cade Brumley, whose department helps DCFS determine which children are eligible, passed on the USDA program. A spokesperson said the department “considered it improper to commit Gov. Jeff Landry and a new legislature to millions of dollars in increased spending toward a new government program.”
The Landry administration’s decision to ultimately reject the USDA assistance hasn’t sat well with some officials, especially those who represent low-income areas.
State Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, sent a letter to Matlock and Brumley asking them to reconsider a day before the USDA deadline.
“By rejecting this program, we are essentially turning our backs on these children and jeopardizing their health and well-being by denying them access to the nutrition they need to grow, learn, and succeed,” Fields wrote.
An appeal from U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, also went unanswered.
The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus issued a statement condemning the Landry administration for not accepting the assistance.
“This callous refusal to accept federal assistance perpetuates a cycle of poverty and food insecurity that should be unacceptable in a modern and compassionate society,” the statement said.
This article originally published in the February 26, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
