Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds revealed a coupleof days before Christmas that her state would not getinvolved in a summertime federal food program for impoverished kids, which has triggered reaction online.
Reynolds, who has served as the guv of the Hawkeye State giventhat 2017, revealed on Friday that Iowa would not be signingupwith other states in the federal 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (EBT) program, which offers low-income households with $40 per kid per month to aid with food expenses while schools are closed, the Associated Press reported. Over 200,000 kids in the state would certify under the program.
In a joint declaration from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education, Reynolds described her thinking.
“Federal COVID-era money advantage programs are not sustainable and puton’t offer long-lasting services for the problems affecting kids and households,” the guv stated stated. “An EBT card does absolutelynothing to promote nutrition at a time when youth weightproblems hasactually endedupbeing an epidemic. If the Biden Administration and Congress desire to make a genuine dedication to household wellness, they needto invest in currently existing programs and facilities at the state level and provide us the versatility to tailor them to our state’s requirements.”
Reynolds’ statement was, in turn, satisfied with a significant quantity of refuse online, especially provided its distance to Christmas. Several social media users took to X, the platform formerly understood as Twitter, to vent their disappointments with Reynolds.
“Merry Christmas from Kim Reynolds!!” a post from the authorities Drake University Democrats account read. “She is decreasing $29 million from the feds that would aid feed 240,000 Iowa kids! She is actively making kids go starving. S