Duluth, GA – Today, Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-07) sent a letter inquiring about Governor Kemp’s decision to opt out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer EBT Program (S-EBT), also known as “Sun Bucks.” Despite having approximately 1.2 million low-income children eligible for this program, Georgia is one of only twelve states not participating or planning to participate in the program for Summer 2024 or 2025.  This means that each of these children will go without an additional $120 in nutritional benefits that the program offers, making them further vulnerable to food insecurity during the summer months. 

Summer EBT is a critical supplement to summer meal programs that may not reach all children who are food insecure. Representative McBath emphasized that opting out of this program has far-reaching consequences across the State.

“Last year, 59 counties in Georgia did not have a Summer Food Service Program feeding site, and some counties currently have no summer feeding sites at all,” McBath wrote. “Summer EBT can help ease the burden by allowing every family in all 159 counties across our state access to the flexible support when they need it.” 

A similar program that existed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), proved to significantly reduce food insecurity in low-income families during the pandemic. The summer adaptation of this program is estimated to cost $4.5 million dollars, which is less than 0.1% of the $16 billion dollar surplus possessed by the Georgia General Reserve Fund at the end of last fiscal year.

The full text of the letter can be found here.