Louisiana turns down summer food assistance again, citing need for ‘self-sufficiency’

A Landry cabinet member announced Friday that Louisiana will not accept federal money to help families to cover summer food expenses when their children aren’t in school to receive free breakfast and lunch. It affirms a choice the state education department, which connects families in need with the assistance, made late last year.

David Matlock, secretary of the state Department of Children and Family Services, said in a short statement Friday that the state’s “existing feeding programs remain in effect.” (read the full statement below)

“Every child deserves a safe home, first and foremost, and families deserve a pathway to self-sufficiency. That is our primary mission,” Matlock said, in part. “Staying focused on that mission, without adding piecemeal programs that come with more strings than long-term solutions, is what will deliver the biggest impact for the children and families we serve.”

A spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) said last month that Superintendent Cade Brumley made the decision in December not to take part in the permanent Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program.

“LDOE considered it improper to commit Governor Landry and a new legislature to millions of dollars in increased spending toward a new government program,” Ted Beasley wrote in a statement to the Illuminator. “Additionally, LDOE determined that existing meal programs… would remain in effect during the summer of 2024. Further, LDOE secured confirmation from the USDA that Louisiana could still enter into the Summer EBT program beyond January 1.”

The deadline for states to accept the additional USDA assistance is Feb. 15. As of mid-January, Louisiana is among 15 states — all with Republican leadership — that declined to take part in the Summer EBT program.

Some state leaders have politicized the optional food assistance program. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he turned down the USDA offer because of his desire to reject “attempts to expand the welfare state,” Mississippi Today reported.

Twelve GOP-led states have chosen to keep the assistance. Tennessee officials have said they would take part in the Summer EBT program for one year.  

There are 644,000 children in children in Tennessee eligible for Summer EBT, potentially drawing more than $77 million for low-income families, according to data from program advocates. 

According to USDA numbers, about 594,000 children in Louisiana would have benefited from Summer EBT this year.

“The Governor’s decision to turn down federal resources to feed children is unconscionable and it is ridiculous to assert that denying them food will somehow break the cycle of poverty,” U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, said in a statement. “This decision will hurt our most vulnerable children and should be reversed immediately.”

Jan Moller, head of the Louisiana Budget Project, said in post on X (formerly Twitter) that the state is turning down $71 million in federal assistance. His organization evaluates state policy and its impact on low- to moderate-income families.

So @JeffLandry picks Friday afternoon before Mardi Gras to announce that Louisianans’ federal taxes will be used to feed kids in other states this summer, but not his own, as he rejects $71m in available aid. #lagov #lalege

— Jan Moller (@jmollerLBP) February 9, 2024

Summer EBT is the permanent version of a temporary USDA pandemic program. It was created to reach children dependent on free meals at school when classes were held remotely, and all 50 states participated in 2021. All but two states distributed the aid in 2022, by which time it had been turned into a summer program. The federal government chose last fall to fund it permanently. 

Louisiana was one of 28 states that accepted the assistance last summer, along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services projected it would add $65.5 million from the program for June and July. Officials could not provide a final amount distributed for summer 2023.

Families received $120 per qualifying child for the period last summer. Had Louisiana accepted the assistance this summer, each child would have received $40 per month with a maximum of $120 per family. 

More than 234,000 children in Louisiana are food insecure, according to the food bank coalition Feeding Louisiana. The USDA describes food insecurity as when someone doesn’t have enough to eat and doesn’t know where they’ll get their next meal.