This summer, 35 states will participate in a $2.5 billion federal nutrition program that will give families who qualify for free and reduced lunch $120 per child to alleviate food insecurity. However, Texas and 15 other Republican states have not passed the bill, but they should.
Currently, 3.8 million children in Texas are eligible for the program and rely on free and reduced lunch during the school year to have one guaranteed meal each school day. When school lets out for the summer, this meal is gone, and students struggle to be properly nourished. Without this bill, students will struggle to feel full, not knowing when their next meal will be.
Additionally, the program will give families the ability to afford food they do not have to travel for. In fact, Comal school district offered free lunches and breakfasts for children 18 and younger at Church Hill Middle School and Morningside Elementary, both in New Braunfels. Food banks and soup kitchens also give free meals, but someone who is struggling to put food on the table will not be able to afford the gas money to travel to places with free food. This program is necessary to provide proper nutrition to children across the state.
State officials argue the Texas Human and Health Commision does not have the manpower and finances to run the program, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture will cover 50% of the expenses. Moreover, HHSC is not the only department that will organize the program. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Agriculture will also work to distribute the money. With three different agencies joining forces, there is no reason Texas should not have the “manpower” to run the program.
It seems inevitable that Texas, a red state, would refuse to implement a social welfare program, but Nebraska governor Jim Pillen, an avid supporter of fighting critical race theory and keeping socialism out of America, eventually accepted the program after students lobbied for it. Social welfare is not a matter of party affiliation but of doing what is best for the common good. Texas leaders should not sacrifice humanity for a political agenda.
Because the program will allow students to have food security in the summer, Texas should participate in the federal nutrition program.
