Does this align with being pro-life? Louisiana refuses summer meal assistance for kids

quote:

---

WASHINGTON — Children from low-income families in 35 states, four tribes and all U.S. territories will now receive permanent food assistance during the summer months when schools are closed, leaving children in 15 states — including Louisiana — excluded from the benefits.

The Washington Post and The Hill have reported that the 15 states — all with Republican leadership — turned down the additional food assistance.

The Illuminator reached a spokesperson with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, which oversees food benefits, to ask about why the benefits aren’t being made available. She had not provided a response as of late Wednesday.

Low-income families in participating states will receive $40 each month for each eligible school-aged child, up to $120, to buy groceries beginning in the summer of 2024. The cash will come via electronic benefit transfer, often called EBT, and will be added to food assistance debit cards.

Congress authorized the program’s permanent status in December 2022.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the program will reach 21 million children — or around 70% of U.S. children eligible for government meal programs — in the states, tribes and territories that signed on to be part of the initial launch.

A list of implementing agencies in those states, tribal lands and territories will be available in the spring of 2024, according to the USDA. USDA is encouraging families to check for updates at www.fns.usda.gov/sebt/household.

Notably the participating four tribes have lands in Oklahoma, Texas and Mississippi, three states that are not part of the launch.

Besides Louisiana, the USDA said other states that will not provide the new grocery benefits for low-income children include: Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

---