Governor Kim Reynolds says she has not opted out of a federal program to provide food to needy Iowa child next summer, she’s just waiting to see if the USDA will let her use the money to set up a new system in Iowa for distributing it.
“I can’t imagine why they would not be excited about letting us be a demonstration project that maybe other states across the country could say: ‘I can serve 60,000 more kids. I can actually provide more food and I can help get these kids on a healthy eating program,'” Reynolds said.
Iowa was one of 13 states that did not participate in this summer’s U.S.D.A. program which provided families with an extra 140 dollars in grocery money for each child who qualifies for free or reduced price school lunches. Reynolds has drawn up a plan to distribute the $29 million in benefits by having the state buy the food and box it up.
“By doing a healthy box of food, we can actually purchase wholesale instead of a card where they go into a retail site,” Reynolds said. “With inflationary prices and the cost of groceries today, that really restricts the amount of food that they can buy.”
The governor told reporters the boxed up food would be distributed by the state’s 1,200 food banks and food pantries as well as the 500 sites around the state — mostly schools — that provided summer meals this summer. Critics say giving Iowa parents electronic benefits cards lets them address the nutrition needs of their family and avoid foods their kids are allergic to. Reynolds said the emphasis in her alternative is on healthy food.
“Michelle Obama, that was one of her initiatives, to make sure that we were providing health foods for our kids and our families,” Reynolds sids. “We’re building on that.”
Reynolds made her comments during a news conference yesterday, but has not said whether she will opt out of the Summer feeding program next year if the U.S.D.A. does not fund her food box alternative. The governor’s Health and Human Services director says she’s had a couple of productive conversations with a top U.S.D.A. official about the governor’s waiver request.