Iowa refused federal aid to feed 240,000 kids this summer. Can it meet the need by itself?

Kaydee Cuesta thought she had it figured out.

Since 2020, when the federal government launched the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), the single mother from Grimes used the $240 it provided for the summer to help with groceries — no easy task since she spends $250 to $350 a week on food alone.

With four daughters between the ages of 2 and 10 — two whom are in school and eligible for $40 a month in P-EBT benefits during summer months — she tried to stretch the money as far as she could while eyeing the best deals from Hy-Vee, Aldi and Costco.

It was hard, but "I made it happen," the 29-year-old mother said.

And it's going to get harder.

Cuesta is among the thousands of parents affected by Gov. Kim Reynolds' recent decision to opt out of the Summer EBT program, which the federal government operates to provide relief for low-income families like hers with school-age children.

Though summer is months away, Cuesta already is thinking of ways to make sure her children will be fed. That could mean more trips to local food pantries or relying on area nonprofits such as Urban Dreams.

"It's going to have to be a little bit of a cutback," she said.

What is the Summer EBT program?

Iowa is one of 17 states that declined to participate in the Summer EBT program this year, effectively turning down about $29 million in federal food aid for low-income families.

More: Iowa won't participate in federal program giving low-income kids grocery money

Managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Summer EBT program was created to provide support to families who rely on free and reduced-price school lunches during the school year by providing them with a prepaid debit card during the summer months.

Families would get $40 per eligible child — $120 total per child — to purchase groceries while schools are dismissed for summer break.

Approximately 240,000 Iowa children would be eligible to receive Summer EBT benefits this year, according to the Food Research and Action Center.

This would have been Iowa’s first opportunity to participate in the federal program, which had been piloted in other states since 2011. In all, 33 states and six U.S. territories have signed on to participate in the program this summer, according to the USDA.

Iowa did participate in the P-EBT program, a similar federal program that provided funding to families during the summer months to purchase groceries as part of the government’s response to COVID-19.

During the summer of 2023, 244,798 children in Iowa received Pandemic EBT benefits, according to state officials. That program ended with the end of the federal public health emergency last year.

Without the summer food funding, some experts have raised concerns about the state's ability to meet Iowans' needs at a time when food insecurity is on the rise.

"We're going to see a lot of families who are struggling in the summer to feed their families," said Hannah Morrison Shultz, an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. "I think families with children are going to be much more likely to experience hunger, and this summer they're going to have to turn to other ways of feeding their families, including using the charitable food system."

Why did Iowa officials say no to the EBT program?

In her announcement last month, Gov. Kim Reynolds raised concerns about the program's failure to promote healthy eating habits among its users, stating "an EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic."

However, in later statements, state officials walked back that comment.

"We did not indicate that the Summer EBT program was linked to obesity, however, a cash benefit card with very few limitations on purchases does not achieve direct access to healthy meals for school-age children," Iowa HHS Spokesperson Sarah Ekstrand said in a statement to the Register. "Whereas existing programs administered by Iowa HHS and Department of Education are centered around healthy food options and nutrition."

Still, Cuesta and Luke Elzinga, board chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said they found Reynolds' message unsettling, disappointing and tone-deaf.

"It's really harmful rhetoric," said Elzinga, who also serves as the policy and advocacy manager at the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC). "It also just shows the lack of basic knowledge of food insecurity."

Nutritious food is expensive and likely inaccessible to low-income families, Elzinga and Morrison Shultz said.

"Obesity is a form of malnutrition," Morrison Shultz said. "When we're thinking about lower-income people, we think about nutrition having the opposite effect, but we know that calorie-dense foods tend to be cheaper. It's easier to buy those things, but they do not meet the daily calorie needs."

Often, Elzinga added, parents have to ask themselves: "What am I able to afford? What's it going to cost me?"

Child obesity linked more to hunger than food assistance, research shows

Heather Nell, a Johnston mother of two who also received P-EBT benefits, said her family has turned to canning their vegetables and making their own pasta noodles as a way to cut costs and have healthier options.

Nell said another way she tries to save money is by cooking meals that can last for a few days. Chili is an easy go-to for the suburban family of four.

Childhood obesity is often more strongly associated with hunger than with food assistance programs, according to researchers, food policy experts and major medical associations. One study published in 2018 found the risk of a child becoming obese was five times higher for those living in food-insecure households compared with children in food-secure homes.

When low-income families have additional resources, including food assistance benefits, they tend to choose healthier, more nutritional food items, said Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-school-time programs at the Food Research and Action Center.

When families don’t have that help, they tend to choose lower-quality food that is less nutritious to make their money stretch further, FitzSimons said.

“It's not a surprise when families have more resources, it's easier to buy a bag of apples than it is if they don’t," she said.

In a statement to the Register, governor’s office spokesperson Kollin Crompton pointed out that Summer EBT funds carry no requirements that they be used to purchase nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.

On the other hand, Crompton said state-run food programs such as the Seamless Summer Option are required to provide balanced meals that provide milk, fruits, vegetables, proteins and grains.

“These nutritional standards provide well-balanced, prepared meals for children in a healthy, safe environment,” he said.

The junk food debate is ongoing in Iowa

This is not the first time the nutritional value of food-assistance programs has faced scrutiny in Iowa. A bill introduced early in the 2023 legislative session proposed a ban on Iowans using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds, also known as food stamps, to buy pop and candy.

That legislation ultimately did not pass the Iowa House, but the GOP-majority Legislature did pass a bill that required SNAP recipients to undergo "asset tests" and other regular checks of their eligibility.

In place of EBT, state officials say they plan to enhance and expand existing nutrition programs, including exploring opportunities to use federal American Rescue Plan money to expand the number of school districts participating in summer feeding programs, Crompton said.

Iowa HHS officials are also exploring options to grow nutritional counseling services offered through the state's Medicaid program and to create more access points to nutritious options for food-insecure Iowans, Ekstrand said.

The Iowa Department of Education did not comment in time for publication.

Advocates criticize Gov. Kim Reynolds' decision

Officials from the Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC said they continue to grapple with Reynolds' decision to opt out of a federal program that would have brought some relief to thousands of Iowa families.

Blake Willadsen, a spokesperson for DMARC, said he and his colleagues were "shocked" to hear the news, especially as his organization has seen more families visiting pantries. Those numbers of families had slightly dropped, he said, after the P-EBT went into effect.

"I feel like a lot of people who are visiting food pantries right now would find it extremely frustrating to think that the state of Iowa doesn't trust them to know what to do with these dollars to support their families," Willadsen said. "When they take their EBT card (or) participate in SNAP and go to the grocery store, they're buying items like milk. They're buying meat. They're buying bananas."

The news comes at a time when the numbers of Iowans served by both organizations continue to reach record highs. More people are visiting local pantries to find food — and those pantries are struggling to keep up.

In November, the Food Bank of Iowa distributed 2.15 million pounds of food, beating its previous record, set in October 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DMARC, which manages several local food pantries, served approximately 29,469 people in November — "the busiest" month in the organization's 47-year history.

In an emailed statement to the Register, Food Bank of Iowa President and CEO Michelle Book called the news of Iowa's decision not to participate in EBT "extremely unfortunate" and anticipates challenges will come as the need grows.

“Unfortunately, there's nothing to indicate the unprecedented need for food assistance will lessen any time soon," Book said in the statement. "This community steps up to help its neighbors. It's only through generous individual and corporate donors, grants and strong retail partnerships that Food Bank of Iowa is able to support Iowans' needs.

"The 30,000-square-foot addition to our Des Moines distribution center was completed just in time this past fall, which is helping us to get more and more food out the door and onto tables every month. Still, we are in uncharted territory.”

Experts say existing state meal programs not enough to feed young Iowans during the summer

Summer meal programs touted by state officials in their announcement last month are designed to fill the gaps in communities when the school year ends and families no longer have access to those school-based free and reduced-price lunches.

Those summer meals and snacks are provided at sites vetted and approved by the Iowa Department of Education and are often associated with summer programming offered at organizations like the YMCA, or the Girls and Boys Club. Last summer, state officials said there were "nearly 500 sites" across Iowa.

But Nell said her family's experience at a meal site last summer was "awful." She said the site her family went to had strict rules.

Meals were only given to children and teens under the age of 18 years old and couldn't be shared with parents, guardians or even older siblings, she recalled. Nell said meals must also be consumed on-site and cannot be taken home.

Even while sitting under a tent, Nell said the scorching heat made it difficult for her teenage son to enjoy his meal. Nell said her son felt "awkward" eating in front of them, and her young grandson, who has asthma, also struggled to eat in the above 100-degree weather.

FitzSimons said many states "do not provide enough funding for summer programming for kids.” As a result, these programs have historically served only a fraction of kids nationwide who rely on free and reduced-price school lunches, sometimes reaching only 1 in 7 eligible children nationwide.

Iowa is not immune to that struggle — a fact that even state officials have publicly admitted. Though there are many sites across the state, the state-managed summer meal program "is still under-utilized," according to the Iowa Department of Education.

“Iowa has always struggled to feed kids during the summer,” FitzSimons said.

In the summer of 2022, the latest data available, Iowa provided summer meals to about 19,000 kids — far below the approximately 240,000 eligible for summer EBT benefits.

"That’s a huge gap,” FitzSimons said.

Transportation is a huge barrier for many families, particularly those who live in rural areas and only have access to a site that's located miles away from them, Willadsen and FitzSimons said. Willadsen also noted that the adult who brings their kids to a summer meal site isn't allowed to have lunch with them.

FitzSimons said Iowa has worked hard to make sure kids have access to summer meals but has struggled as a rural state. She said it's good that the state is working to expand summer meal sites, but she said for the best results for Iowa families, that effort should be made in conjunction with the Summer EBT program.

"We are lacking in high-quality summer programs, and we are lacking in summer meal sites," she said. "Summer EBT really is the easiest way to get grocery benefits into a household’s hands, so that they can keep hunger at bay during the summer months."

Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter at @writefelissa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa's refusal of summer food aid comes as its food insecurity grows