Hundreds of thousands of eligible poor Mississippi children will miss out on grocery assistance this summer after the state missed the deadline to apply for the federal program for the second year in a row.
Families who rely on free breakfasts and lunches during the school year often have trouble making ends meet while paying for additional child care and meals during months when school is not in session.
The program provides each eligible child $40 a month in grocery assistance. It was estimated the program would have brought in $38 million to the state last year.
The nation’s poorest state is also the hungriest state – with nearly one in four children not having reliable access to food in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services, the agency responsible for administering the program, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Mississippi Today about its decision to opt out. Gov. Tate Reeves, who oversees DHS, also did not respond to questions about the decision, though he told news outlets last year he made the decision based on his desire to reject “attempts to expand the welfare state.”
Springboard to Opportunities will offer cash assistance to needy families in Jackson for another summer after it launched its own program last year in response to the governor’s decision not to participate in the Summer EBT program.
“Summer is the hungriest time of the year for millions of families across our country … This initiative was launched in direct response to Mississippi’s decision to opt out of the federal SUN Bucks program, which could have filled this hunger gap for low-income families across the state,” Sarah Stripp, the nonprofit’s director of socioeconomic wellbeing, said at a press conference at the Capitol last week.
Springboard to Opportunities served 672 children in the summer of 2024, but there are about 324,000 children across the state who would qualify for food under SUN Bucks, according to the Food Resource and Action Center, a national nonprofit organization working to end hunger in the U.S.
Stripp urged state leaders to reconsider their decision for 2026.
Summer cash assistance from Springboard to Opportunities is only available for Jackson families living in federally-subsidized housing. But the success of the program – boasting a drastic reduction in hunger, according to a survey – shows what kind of difference a small amount of cash can make in the hands of eligible families.
Michelle Howard, a Jackson mother of two young boys, applied for assistance from the nonprofit last summer after seeing a flyer on her door. Before she started receiving benefits, Howard said summer wasn’t enjoyable – it was filled with stress and anxiety trying to find the extra money to cover meals and child care.
“We already have a set amount that we’re working with throughout the year. Once the summer comes, we’re still working on that same little bit of money,” Howard, who runs a cleaning business, told Mississippi Today at the Capitol. “… Right now, when my children are in school, I maybe spend $500 a month on groceries. But when the summer comes, I might need an additional $200 or $300 a month.”
SUN Bucks was created based on the success of earlier versions of summer food assistance programs and supported by a bipartisan group in Congress. The Biden Administration created the program to help families deal with higher food costs when children are out of school and not receiving free and reduced-price meals.
While the Mississippi Department of Education participates in other federal food programs during the summer, children – especially in rural areas – often don’t have transportation to get to the sites that serve the meals.
Sade McGee, director of food services in Yazoo County School District, said programs that require students to have transportation to get meals during summer months have low participation in her district.
Thirty-eight states – including Mississippi’s neighboring states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama – have enrolled in the program.
The implementation of the program in Louisiana required pressure and funding from state legislators last year. Gov. Jeff Landry originally said in early 2024 that the state would not participate, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers saw differently and put up the money needed to implement the program.
The program cost $7 million to run – half of which was paid by the federal government, the Illuminator reported at the time.
The state got an extension and implemented the program in a short amount of time, according to David Matlock, the secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services.
Matlock told Mississippi Today the rollout of the program was hard work and took a lot of coordination among state agencies, including the education department.
He said the state plans to continue its participation.
“Our retailers were interested in continuing this program, our families are interested in continuing this program,” he said.
The post Mississippi again turns down millions of dollars to feed low-income kids during summer months appeared first on Mississippi Today.