Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee rejected $1.1 million in federal grant funding at the beginning of the year, an action that will end free summer meals for up to 700,000 Tennessee children.
Lee’s adminstration indicated last year that it would not renew the state’s participation in the federal Electronic Benefits Transfers Program for Children (Summer EBT). His office told NBC News last month that it costs too much to administer the program, noting that the federal government began shifting the adminstration cost to the states.
The program issued a $120 EBT card, called Sun Bucks, to 700,000 children in Tennessee last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administered the program for the federal government. They were available for children aged 6- to 17-years-old for June, July, and August, when most children are on summer vacation. The money could only be spent on food.
Lee’s adminstration did not formally announce the rejection on any public platform. Instead, his office quietly missed the January 1 deadline renewal.
The rejection brought questions and anger from many.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) requested an explanation of Lee’s decision by January 17th. He said child hunger is “especially pressing in Tennessee,” where 40 percent of families report food insecurity, according to data from Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.
“While I understand your office issued a statement claiming that the program was ‘established in the pandemic-era to supplement existing food assistance programs in an extraordinary circumstance’ and that the program is ‘mostly duplicative,’ I urge your administration to reconsider,” Cohen wrote in a letter to Lee this week. “Congress’s decision to make the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) a permanent summer program through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 reflects the bipartisan recognition of its success and necessity.
“Feeding our children is not just a matter of public policy — it is a moral imperative. Well-nourished children are better able to learn, grow, and lead healthy, well-adjusted lives.”
Knowing that Lee’s decision on the matter was at hand, many Tennessee relief agencies advocated for him to keep the program.
The Nashville-based Tennessee Justice Center urged its followers to send Lee a form letter, which asked him to keep the program.
“In 2024, Summer EBT served over 650,000 children in Tennessee and brought nearly $79 million into the state economy,” the center said. “Tennessee children aren’t going anywhere. They will continue to need food during the summer months in 2025 and beyond.”
In a December opinion piece in The Tennessean, Rhonda Chafin, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, said opportunities like the Summer EBT program are rare, and praised Lee for joining the effort in the first place.
“Opportunities to create such profound, positive change for children — at minimal cost to the state — are rare,” Chafin wrote. “By continuing Summer EBT, Tennessee can address child hunger, boost educational outcomes, and stimulate local economies simultaneously.
“Governor Lee has demonstrated compassionate leadership in this area before, and we trust he will do so again. The children of Tennessee are counting on us to stand up for their well-being. Let’s not let them down.”
Tennessee House Democrats were more direct in their assessment of Lee’s decision. Before Christmas, the group posted a photo of Lee dressed as The Grinch with a sack on his back, that reads “Food $$$.” The meme asks, “Will the Governor steal your child’s summer meals?”
The post also carried this treatment of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“’Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the state,
Tennesseans were begging Gov. Lee to stop with the hate.
Letters were sent with stories of how,
Lee’s decision on summer EBT for children was needed now,
With hopes that he will renew the program with glee,
Call his office with a hopeful plea.”