S.C. Democrats push summer food program for students
COLUMBIA, S.C. - State Democratic lawmakers are criticizing Gov. Henry McMaster’s decision to opt the state out of a federal food program for lower-income children this summer.
The Department of Social Services announced last week that McMaster decided South Carolina would not participate in the 2024 Summer EBT program.
Through Summer EBT, lower-income students who receive free or reduced-cost meals during the school year would also receive an EBT card over the summer. These are families who are at or under 185% of the federal poverty line — about $55,000 for a family of four.
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“That was a COVID-related benefit, extra. We’ve got to get back to doing normal business. We can’t be doing that forever, but we’re still continuing all the other programs that we have,” Gov. Henry McMaster said, listing assistance like SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamps program.
Democrats say feeding hungry kids should be a bipartisan issue and more than two-dozen of them voiced their opposition to the governor’s choice at a news conference Tuesday.
“To turn this down is ridiculous,” Sen. Deon Tedder (D-Charleston) said. “To turn this down is disrespectful to our parents and also to our children because they are our future.”
South Carolina had participated in P-EBT through this past summer, with Summer EBT set to replace it starting in 2024. But there are notable differences between the programs.
The costs of P-EBT were fully covered by the federal government, but under Summer EBT, states are on the hook for 50% of istrative costs.
South Carolina said the USDA still has not released full guidance concerning how the program would be istered and implemented and how much it would cost.
The state won’t have an updated estimate for how much money it will have to spend in the next state budget until mid-February, and lawmakers are still crafting the overall spending plan.
Meanwhile, the USDA wanted to know before then, by Jan. 1, if states planned to participate, and it was sending states new, interim guidance on implementation just days before that deadline.
Across the country, 35 states, five territories, and four tribes told the USDA they intend to participate in Summer EBT, which the federal government estimates will provide access to food to nearly 21 million children.
But because that letter of intent is not binding, some of those states, territories, and tribes may end up backing out between now and the summer.
Among South Carolina’s neighboring and nearby states, Georgia and Florida — also headed by Republican governors — are not participating, while Republican-led Tennessee sent the letter of intent to opt in, as did North Carolina, which is led by a Democratic governor.
South Carolina’s existing summer feeding programs for kids are overseen by the state’s Department of Education and predominantly offered in congregate settings, though rural locations have the option to adapt to make them more accessible.
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