Iowa will not participate in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family over the summer to help with food costs while school is out.

Iowa will not participate this summer in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with food costs while school is out, state officials have announced.

The state has notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education said in a Friday news release.

“Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the news release.

She added, “If the Biden Administration and Congress want to make a real commitment to family well-being, they should invest in already existing programs and infrastructure at the state level and give us the flexibility to tailor them to our state’s needs.”

  • slurpeesoforion@startrek.website
    0·
    10 months ago

    This is just the, “Don’t feed strays. They won’t leave if you do.” Except they think poor people will magically find the money to move.

  • Lexam@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Finally someone is standing up against. Checks notes. Free school Lunches! Wait what?

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    10 months ago

    Yikes

    “In the end, I fundamentally believe that we solve the problem, and I don’t believe in welfare,” Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen told the Journal Star on Friday.

    • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
      0·
      10 months ago

      Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

      - Literally Jesus, Matthew 7:21-23

      • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
        0·
        10 months ago

        The nearby verse is more on point https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 25%3A42-46&version=NLT

        42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

        44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

        45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

        46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

        But religious right wingers who even know this part of the Bible will do some backflips to justify that they don’t have to help those people. I once encountered someone telling me it only applied to missionaries.

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
    0·
    10 months ago

    “Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the news release.

    She added, “If the Biden Administration and Congress want to make a real commitment to family well-being, they should invest in already existing programs and infrastructure at the state level and give us the flexibility to tailor them to our state’s needs.”

    They don’t think the current program to address child hunger is sustainable. They are not replacing it with another program, are they? They’re just going to let the kids go hungry?

    And people vote for these assholes?

  • Lophostemon@aussie.zone
    0·
    10 months ago

    Oh goodness me no! Why would you want to do that?!? I mean doing something like feeding poor kids is only a hairsbreadth away from total communism.

  • ersatz@infosec.pub
    0·
    10 months ago

    Haha, let’s force poor women to give birth to unwanted children, and then take away the tiny crumbs we’ve been giving them. Governor, you’re a genius!

    This is a federal program. It costs them nothing. These people are fucked up monsters.

    • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      10 months ago

      This is a federal program. It costs them nothing

      That’s really the most fucked up thing. These are always states that already take far more from the federal government than they provide in taxes, and they complain as if they’d be the ones paying for this shit.

      As someone who’s in a state that gives far more to the US government in taxes than we take, I should have more of a say where that money goes, and I would prefer to continue giving aid to these children in Iowa. In fact, it should be more.

      • Goferking0@ttrpg.network
        0·
        10 months ago

        Her only claim of accomplishment is that the state has a huge surplus, which is simply due to her cutting just about everything simply so she can trigger tax cuts for the rich.

        Not even the first federal money she’s rejected, when not misappropriating the federal money she has taken

  • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
    0·
    10 months ago

    “Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the news release.

    Okay, so they have a better program they’re implementing instead to address those issues?

  • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
    0·
    10 months ago

    Twelve million children are food insecure in the “Greatest Country on Earth™” and they want to cut spending to feed them.

  • urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    0·
    10 months ago

    My sister in law works in a fast food restaurant. My niece (9 years old) primarily eats fast food for this reason. My SIL gets a discount, she doesn’t have to cook or go anywhere else. To her it’s a way to save money. My niece is slightly overweight and doesn’t like fast food anymore.

    Food stamps would help, but nobody can get them to reach out for help. They feel ashamed for some reason.

  • PugJesus@kbin.social
    0·
    10 months ago

    “God, I want to hurt children so much.” - Republicans

    An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,

    Poor nutrition is when the poors have too much access to food. /s

    She added, “If the Biden Administration and Congress want to make a real commitment to family well-being, they should invest in already existing programs and infrastructure at the state level and give us the flexibility to tailor them to our state’s needs.”

    Read: “Give us money and let us cut taxes for our ultrawealthy donors yet again.”

    • Clusterfck@lemmy.sdf.org
      0·
      10 months ago

      Wouldn’t “schools and their kitchens/cafeterias existing” count as existing programs and infrastructure?

      • PugJesus@kbin.social
        0·
        10 months ago

        In theory, sure.

        In practice, the GOP has made it a core issue to defund schools and remove free and subsidized lunches, so it’s unlikely that any money given to the governor’s administration would go towards anything of the sort.