Republican governors blocking 8 million students from summer food program

Republican governors in 15 states are blocking students from accessing a federal summer food assistance program.

Two gave just great reasons for why.

“Childhood obesity has become an epidemic.” This was Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“I don’t believe in welfare.”

That one’s our winner, from Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen.

The moves by the 15 GOP governors will deny food benefits to 8 million children across the country this summer.

The summer food program, approved in a bipartisan budget agreement approved by Congress in 2022, will provide families with incomes below the poverty level who already get free or reduced-price school lunches with $120 per child to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets or other approved retailers.

The USDA says 17.3 percent of households with children are what we call food insecure.

These aren’t the kids who the Iowa Gov. Reynolds worries about being obese; those would be the middle-class and upper-middle-class kids who get three meals a day, and whatever they want to snack on.

“It’s sad,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, because what else can you say.

“There isn’t really a political reason for not doing this,” Vilsack said. “This is unfortunate. I think governors may not have taken the time or made the effort to understand what this program is and what it isn’t.”

At least our Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, isn’t playing politics with whether poor kids get to eat when school is out for summer.

That’s a low bar to be able to jump over, but at least he cleared it.

“Virginia students should have access to healthy meals, even when school isn’t in session,” said Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democratic congresswoman who is running for the 2025 Democratic Party nomination for governor.

“The Summer EBT program — which I voted to make permanent — will provide grocery benefits to hundreds of thousands of Virginia families during the summer months,” Spanberger said.