Groups join calls for DeSantis to authorize food stamp boost
More than 80 groups, including the Florida PTA, have joined a plea for state leaders to secure $820 million in federal food benefits that would help 2 million low-income children across the state. But it’s a move Gov. Ron DeSantis appears unlikely to make.
The DeSantis administration has not yet applied for the funds, available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, that would provide a one-time bonus to eligible families of roughly $375 per child in SNAP benefits, the Supplemental Food Assistance Program, or food stamps.
The program aimed to help children over the summer, when school meals were unavailable. But there has been no application deadline set — so far, at least — and benefits can be awarded retroactively. Supporters said it would help struggling families dig out of pandemic-related debt.
“These families need support catching up on what they lost,” said Dave Krepcho, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, who said desperate parents often forego other bills to cover groceries. “To realize that just over $820 million was available with no strings, and the state is refusing this help, makes absolutely no sense.”
Nationally, the extra benefits are available to all children who were eligible to receive free or reducedprice meals during the school year. Children under age 6 whose families were already enrolled in SNAP for the summer are also eligible. Those families would receive the funds electronically on what looks like a credit card and can only be used for food at grocery stores, selected online grocers and farmer’s markets.
So far, 39 other states — including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas — have applied for the funds, which have been available since April and require no matching money. The application process needs the governor’s endorsement to move forward, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is using a simple, streamlined application process to expedite approval.
The Florida Department of Children and Families, the agency that manages the state’s food stamp program, has not responded to repeated requests for comment. But the governor’s press secretary, Christina Pushaw, implied in an email that Florida residents did not need the program, known as Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, or P-EBT.
“P-EBT was created by the federal government last year to ensure children were still being fed while they attended school remotely. As you know, schools are not remote in Florida and were not remote last year either. Children are receiving nutrition directly from schools,” she wrote.
While most schools did have remote learning for part of the year, this program addresses the summer, not the school year, notes attorney Cindy Huddleston, a senior policy analyst for the nonpartisan Florida Policy Institute.
“Of course, the state also would benefit from the influx of P-EBT spent at local grocery stores and markets,” she said.
DeSantis has not spoken publicly on the matter.
The Florida Policy Institute initially raised the issue Aug. 23 with the backing of a few anti-hunger organizations. Since then, 81 groups have signed on to a letter urging the state to act, including the American Children’s Campaign, United Way of Florida, Florida Family Child Care Home Association, Junior League of Jacksonville and Holy Name of Jesus Food Pantry in Indialantic.
Desiree Dunn, an Orlando mother of five, said the benefits would ease the stress of a lean summer.
“It would help tremendously with just restocking my pantry,” said Dunn, who’s attending culinary school through Second Harvest to bolster her earning power. “I’ve got four boys, and so we went through everything we had, including all the beans and rice . ... Some days, there’s just not enough for me and my husband, because the kids have to take priority.”
Several Democratic leaders, including state Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, also have called on DeSantis to act.
“There is simply no reason why you should have ended — or be so far behind in securing — this critical federal assistance for our children that is being provided at no cost to the state,” wrote Fried, who is running for governor in 2022, in a publicly released letter. “The people of Florida cannot afford for you to leave money on the table, especially when it means leaving food off their tables.”