UnidosUS: Turning away federal food dollars hurts children’s health and weakens the state’s economy

MCALLEN, Texas – UnidosUS wants Texas leaders and local government officials to accept federal funding that it says would provide a lifeline to more than one million children during summer months when school meal programs are unavailable. 

The group, the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the nation, released a new report Monday urging the State of Texas to act before the final February 15, 2025 deadline to opt into a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program, the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (Summer EBT).

Doing so could provide the state up to $450 million in benefits to support thousands of Texan families in need, UnidosUS states.

“Clearly, the state’s current summer feeding programs are falling short. Children’s food security and health should be among the top priorities for Texan leaders and government officials,” said UnidosUS Texas State Director, Eric Holguín.

“However, in 2024, state officials refused federal funding for these programs, claiming administrative challenges and a lack of state-appropriated funds. But, with a budget surplus, Texas has the resources to invest in this critical program. We call on Texas’s officials to prioritize our children’s health and wellbeing.”

According to the report, during summer months, 1.3 million children in Texas experience food insecurity. Hispanic children are disproportionately harmed — over half (52% or 650,000) of Latino children go hungry during this time. Non-Hispanic Black children make up 22% (274,000), while non-Hispanic white children account for 17% (213,000).

“Hunger and food insecurity can harm children’s health. Holding all other factors constant, researchers report that household food insecurity increases children’s asthma rates by 19 percent emergency department visits by 26 percent, and depression by 28 percent,” the report states.

“Children are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity during the summer, when school meals are typically unavailable. School meals can be one of the healthiest sources of food for children and, for some children, the only meals they eat all day.”

UnidosUS’s report says rejecting federal food money weakens economic growth in Texas. 

“Without those resources, families buy less food, which reduces sales for grocers and other retailers. The damage extends to other economic sectors, as retailers with reduced revenue buy fewer goods and services from other Texas businesses,” the report states.

“Because of this ‘multiplier effect,’ the non-partisan Food and Research Action Center found that Texas’s rejection of federal food money for summer EBT cut economic activity between $675 million and $810 million, reducing state and local revenue and eliminating jobs.”

Rejecting federal food assistance denies Texas families the help they need paying high food costs, UnidosUS argues, pointing out that grocery prices are among the top ten of any state in the country. 

According to a poll conducted by No Kid Hungry Texas:

• 77% of Texans are struggling to afford groceries, with more than 80% of people reporting that food prices are rising faster than their incomes.

• More than 50% of Texans are often forced to choose between food and other essentials like rent, utilities and medicine — a figure that increases to 60% for families with children and 66% for Texans in rural areas.

• Higher food prices have forced many Texans, particularly families with children, to buy cheaper, less nutritious food than in the past. Almost 50% of Texans report buying no protein or less protein than in previous years. More than 40% buy less fresh produce than in the past.

Holguín, UnidosUS’ Texas state director, said Texas’s leaders should take specific steps to help children and businesses by claiming the federal food dollars available. He said several steps are essential for policymakers to take in the near term. For example:

• HHSC should complete the planning work needed to implement Summer EBT in 2025, filing an interim POMS as soon as possible, and then completing the remaining steps needed to qualify for federal dollars. States now face a February 15 due date for final planning materials for 2025 Summer EBT. If Texas can’t meet that due date, HHSC should again ask federal officials for extensions, as they have granted for other states.

• HHSC should explore strategies to reduce state administrative costs by pursuing federal grants to cover some of the program’s technology costs and by seeking philanthropic support to draw down matching federal administrative dollars.

• The Legislature should use a tiny fraction of the state’s budget surplus to cover remaining state administrative costs needed to claim federal dollars to feed Texas children and sustain Texas businesses. The Legislature should also explore whether any unspent ARPA dollars could contribute to technology updates needed to improve Summer EBT implementation and streamline the administration of nutrition security programs more broadly.

“Many of the circumstances that contributed to Texas’s refusal of 2024 Summer EBT money are long gone,” Holguín added. “The choice to leave families without support throughout the summer will only perpetuate the cycle of childhood hunger in the state, deteriorating our children’s health and the prospect of a brighter future and economic growth for our state. Our kids deserve more.”

The UnidosUS report concluded: “Last summer, 37 states, led by Republicans and Democrats alike, did the work needed to claim hundreds of millions of federal dollars to feed hungry children during summer and to stimulate economic activity supporting employers. Texas’s children and families need help coping with the high price of food, just as much as children and families in these other states. Texas officials are no less competent and dedicated than officials in other states. With the benefit of both time and a healthy budget, state leaders are in a position to claim these benefits in 2025, if they so choose to do so.”

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