Ron DeSantis has lived a charmed life on the taxpayer's dime for 8 years. Yet, DeSantis declined for four years to participate in the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program, known as "Sun Bucks," leaving hundreds of millions in federal food assistance unused for low-income children. Florida turned down roughly $250 million to $259 million in federal funding available for EACH summer cycle. Over 2 million low-income school-aged children missed out on receiving $120 per child in direct grocery benefits. This worsened food insecurity for eligible school-age kids while hurting the bottom line of Florida grocery retailers who would have processed the benefits. The Legislature actually embraced the program and wrote enabling legislation, but Porky vetoed it three years in a row -- and this year the Legislature didn't even try.
So, schools days may mean more food for kids who leave the table hungry because they don't dine at the Florida White House or on a lobbyist's tab.
Sad reality check this morning, Sherry. It would seem government is losing its way, priorities and moral compass. While we should all be thankful for families like the Pajic’s who are helping to bridge the SNAP gap locally with their sizable gift to RAP to facilitate enhanced SNAP benefits through Farmers’s Row at RAM, it begs the question, what’s next? My intuition is telling me that government is bleeding agencies and programs purposefully, expecting a nonprofit to pick up the slack. Or some friend of the WH starts up a new business monetizing these services our tax dollars should be supporting. Our ‘vote’ means more than ever.
Sherry, thank you for continuing to ask the question that should be at the center of every policy decision: What does this mean for children?
When we talk about cuts to food assistance, school lunches, or other basic supports, it is easy to reduce the conversation to budgets and numbers. But behind every number is a child who arrives at school carrying circumstances she did not create and cannot control.
In my work listening to girls impacted by multiple systems, I am reminded again and again how we expect children to succeed while steadily removing the very supports that make success possible. Hunger, housing instability, family economic stress, untreated mental health needs—these don't stay outside the schoolhouse door.
Your final question is the right one: Who cares for these children? And perhaps the harder question is: Are we willing to care enough to make different choices? Are we willing to use our voice and our vote for the children?
Ron DeSantis has lived a charmed life on the taxpayer's dime for 8 years. Yet, DeSantis declined for four years to participate in the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program, known as "Sun Bucks," leaving hundreds of millions in federal food assistance unused for low-income children. Florida turned down roughly $250 million to $259 million in federal funding available for EACH summer cycle. Over 2 million low-income school-aged children missed out on receiving $120 per child in direct grocery benefits. This worsened food insecurity for eligible school-age kids while hurting the bottom line of Florida grocery retailers who would have processed the benefits. The Legislature actually embraced the program and wrote enabling legislation, but Porky vetoed it three years in a row -- and this year the Legislature didn't even try.
So, schools days may mean more food for kids who leave the table hungry because they don't dine at the Florida White House or on a lobbyist's tab.
“Nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be.” Temple Grandin.
Thank you for bringing attention to this politically inspired cruelty.
Sad reality check this morning, Sherry. It would seem government is losing its way, priorities and moral compass. While we should all be thankful for families like the Pajic’s who are helping to bridge the SNAP gap locally with their sizable gift to RAP to facilitate enhanced SNAP benefits through Farmers’s Row at RAM, it begs the question, what’s next? My intuition is telling me that government is bleeding agencies and programs purposefully, expecting a nonprofit to pick up the slack. Or some friend of the WH starts up a new business monetizing these services our tax dollars should be supporting. Our ‘vote’ means more than ever.
Sherry, thank you for continuing to ask the question that should be at the center of every policy decision: What does this mean for children?
When we talk about cuts to food assistance, school lunches, or other basic supports, it is easy to reduce the conversation to budgets and numbers. But behind every number is a child who arrives at school carrying circumstances she did not create and cannot control.
In my work listening to girls impacted by multiple systems, I am reminded again and again how we expect children to succeed while steadily removing the very supports that make success possible. Hunger, housing instability, family economic stress, untreated mental health needs—these don't stay outside the schoolhouse door.
Your final question is the right one: Who cares for these children? And perhaps the harder question is: Are we willing to care enough to make different choices? Are we willing to use our voice and our vote for the children?