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Some elected leaders in Louisiana are hoping the Landry administration will have a last-minute change of heart and accept $71 million in additional federal food benefits for children. The deadline to take part is Thursday.
David Matlock, secretary of the state Department of Children and Family Services, announced Friday that Louisiana would not take part in the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program. It provides qualifying families with $40 more a child in both June and July, capped at $120 per family. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (UDSA) is providing the additional food aid, having turned its program that helped home-isolated feed families during the COVID-19 pandemic into a permanent offering.
The rejection of the Summer EBT assistance affects 594,000 children in Louisiana, according to numbers from the USDA.
Matlock said SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is among the existing food aid services that remains available to families during the summer months. In his statement, he referred to the Summer EBT program indirectly as an example of “piecemeal programs that come with more strings than long-term solutions,” although neither his department nor the governor’s office has elaborated on these apparent downsides.