(Des Moines) Des Moines Governor Kim Reynolds announced today that the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has submitted a waiver request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the 2025 SUN Bucks (Summer EBT program). This waiver request aims to implement a summer feeding demonstration project aligned with addressing summer food insecurity. The state’s proposed project would broaden eligibility to serve more children, provide more food and better nutrition at a reduced cost, capitalize on Iowa’s established network of summer feeding programs and partners, and offer a delivery option to improve access for families without transportation.
Critics urged her to rejoin the Summer program, which provides 40 dollars per month to low-income families for food costs. The USDA will review Iowa’s waiver request for the pilot program.
Governor Reynolds stated, “Together with Iowa HHS and the Department of Education, the state is proposing a summer feeding demonstration project specifically tailored to our state’s needs and capabilities. Iowa’s plan is projected to feed nearly 60,000 more children at a lower cost than the SUN Bucks cash benefit while utilizing the existing infrastructure and promoting healthier options. Last year, I invested $900,000 to expand two other USDA summer feeding programs operated by the Iowa Department of Education that provide healthy, balanced meals and snacks for school-age children statewide. Our plan for 2025 builds upon that concept to promote food security and better health for more Iowa children.”
Additional funding for Iowa’s 2024 summer feeding programs resulted in 61 new meal sites, bringing the total to more than 500 across the state. These sites are located in various settings, including schools, churches, community centers, parks, libraries, and camps. Many sites also offer enrichment opportunities for children, such as reading, physical activity, and nutrition education. Iowa’s demonstration project will utilize these existing sites and networks.
Sustained inflation and high grocery prices nationwide are driving the demand for food assistance beyond traditional benefits. While enrollment in Iowa’s SNAP program has declined by 7%, and other nutrition assistance programs, such as WIC, are stagnant or declining, Iowa food banks and pantries have experienced record numbers of first-time and ongoing pantry users, as 60% of food insecure Iowans are ineligible for SNAP due to their income.
Expanding eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty level, the state’s demonstration project estimates serving 300,000 food-insecure children versus 244,000 through the SUN Bucks program. Equally important, the state’s project emphasizes nutrition to promote better health. According to the most recent State of Childhood Obesity Report, Iowa is ranked 18th highest in the nation for childhood obesity, and 37% of adult Iowans are obese.
Kelly Garcia, director of HHS, said, “The complex issues of food insecurity and obesity cannot be solved with cash benefits that don’t actively promote health, nutrition-dense food, or reach all Iowa children in need. In Iowa, our focus is on the comprehensive well-being of this generation of young Iowans. Our solutions to promote healthy behaviors and well-balanced, nutritious diets for children must be comprehensive and holistic.”
McKenzie Snow, Director of the Iowa Department of Education, added, “The Iowa Department of Education remains committed to supporting students with healthy meals and food options throughout the school year and during the summer months. Our established summer feeding program and dedicated network of community-based providers help position Iowa to implement a demonstration project that best meets the needs of the children and families we serve.”
As proposed, the demonstration project would leverage bulk pricing to offer more food to families at a lower cost. With retail prices at least two to three times higher than wholesale prices, the state can stretch the dollars further and provide more healthy food to more hungry children. Three monthly boxes with healthy foods would be available at distribution sites during the summer months. The program recognizes that for some families, transportation may be a barrier to access. For that reason, in contrast to the SUN Bucks Program, Iowa’s demonstration program will include food box delivery options for families with transportation challenges.
The summer feeding demonstration project is designed to meet the specific needs of feeding Iowa’s children. It delivers nutritious food to more children than the USDA’s SUN Bucks Summer EBT program while leveraging Iowa’s existing infrastructure. Additionally, it provides an important opportunity to better support children with wrap-around services, mitigate transportation challenges, and promote the whole health of Iowa’s children.
USDA Officials stated, “USDA’s Summer EBT program is designed to tackle one objective: feeding kids at a time when we know hunger goes up. It is backed by a decade of demonstration projects and rigorous evaluation showing that it works to reduce child hunger and support healthier diets. It also allows families to make their own decisions on what food is best for their unique needs. Through this waiver request, the governor is asserting that the State knows better than its own families about their needs. The evidence-based Summer EBT program is successfully being run in more than three dozen states, territories, and tribes, helping 21 million children across the U.S. USDA stands ready to support additional states, including Iowa, in offering Summer EBT to even more kids.”
- USDA will review this waiver request just like any other demonstration pilot project.
- Requests for pilot project waivers must demonstrate a plan to research and measure their effectiveness before they can be approved.
- It is important to note that this request is unrelated to USDA’s existing SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) program, which is now successfully running in more than three dozen states, territories, and tribes and helping 21 million children across the U.S.
