U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., is sponsoring a bill to extend food benefits for low income children amid federal funding concerns for state-run food assistance programs.
The “Stop Child Hunger Act” is an expansion of the existing “Stop Child Hunger Summer Act,” passed in December 2022, that enabled summer Electronic Bank Transfers (EBTs) to families of kids from low-income households who were unable to access free school meals during the summer.
The bill would expand the program to winter and spring breaks and include school closures and periods of operating remotely.
After running for the first time in 2024, funding for the summer EBT program was delayed this year after restructuring within the federal government’s Food and Nutrition Service program, which distributes funding for summer EBT to the states.
“This brought in $37.6 million in federal funds to the state economy,” said Christine Stuart, spokesperson for the Department of Social Services, which oversees the program in Connecticut. She added that they “heard from a number of families who were grateful for the additional assistance at a time of increased food insecurity.”
Known as SUN Bucks, the program provides families that are eligible with a $120 transfer per child. These funds are loaded on a card that is valid for 122 days. More than 313,000 children benefitted from the program last year in Connecticut.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said the issue should be addressed at the federal level.
“Families in Connecticut rely on free or reduced lunch during the school year, and that doesn’t go away just because school’s out of session,” he said.
“Trump and Republicans want to cut SNAP so they can give tax cuts to their billionaire friends,” he added.
Last year was the first time in 50 years that Congress had expanded plans for child hunger prevention. It had, in Hayes’ view, been successful.
Families whose children are already on reduced price free school meals, HUSKY A (the state’s Medicaid program) or the state Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) automatically qualify for this benefit. About 97% of the families that received benefits already qualify under one of the programs. The rest enroll in the program through the summer EBT Portal.
The groups that help ensure families are enrolled in free school meals or the SNAP program, including Connecticut Foodshare, a statewide food bank, are also experiencing federal funding cuts. Connecticut Foodshare lost $2.7 million in federal funding in March of this year, as a result of the change in emphasis from the USDA.
“SNAP is the first line of defense against hunger,” said Jason Jakubowski, president of Connecticut Foodshare. “If the U.S. Congress decides to make major cuts, it means we are going to see more people in our lines at a time in which we have even less food to give them.”
The bill asks federal government to cover costs for the first 5 years, with a provision to instruct the USDA Secretary to provide $50 million for state grants to facilitate the program’s operation, at a time when the federal government is looking to cut down on spending for food assistance.
Hayes is sponsoring the bill alongside Congressman Mike Levin, D-Calif., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
“We need do everything we can to fight child hunger. I look forward to pushing it forward through the legislative process,” said Levin.
“I’ve been fighting for more than a decade to ensure that kids who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the school year don’t lose access to nutritious meals when school is out,” said Murray. She added that the Summer EBT program “helped feed nearly 600,000 kids in Washington state.”
The bill will now enter the committee referral stage to be considered before moving forward for debate in both houses of congress.