DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Senate Democrats are now joining the fight to bring back the state's participation in a summer meal program for families and their children.
Iowa declined participation in the Summer EBT program for 2024, instead opting to support other meal programs she believes promote better nutrition.
State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Windsor Heights, introduced Senate File 2039 on Thursday, which would require the state to participate in the program.
“SF 2039 is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together to address child hunger in Iowa,” Sen. Izaah Knox, D-Des Moines, said in a news release.
Senate Democrats aren’t the only ones pushing back against the action from Gov. Kim Reynolds' administration.
On Monday, the Polk County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking if they could still administer the program for families in the county.
“In Des Moines alone, kids that are on free and reduced lunch, it's over 22,000 kids. So that's a lot of kids that are going to possibly go hungry," said Angela Connolly, who serves as chair for the board.
In the letter, the board asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack if the county could administer the program and disburse federal funds on their own.
Vilsack acknowledged the board’s efforts Thursday but told Local 5 the law prohibits them from working with individual counties.
“We are limited to working with states, territories and tribes. so we can't work with any other political subdivision," he said.
This means that the board’s only chance for change is to get Reynolds to rethink her decision, which they hope to do.
“What we're going to do is beg that the state reconsider accepting those dollars," Connolly said. "Not only does it help the families, think of the economy that could get boosted by two and a half million dollars almost just here in Polk County."
Vilsack agreed that the dismissal of the program neglects the positive economic impact that the funding could bring.
“If we do a better job of making sure that governors who have been reluctant understand the significance of this ... maybe governors will change their mind," he told Local 5.
Over 20,000 students in Des Moines Public Schools are said to benefit from the program, according to the Polk County Board of Supervisors.
The state has until Thursday, Feb. 15 to re-apply for the Summer P-EBT program.