For the first time since the program’s creation, Texas families were on track to start receiving federal dollars aimed at feeding school-aged children while they’re home over the summer.
Though lawmakers from both parties found unusual agreement on the issue this legislative session, their plans were reversed this week as Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the $60 million they’d budgeted to make it happen.
The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program would have provided low income families with $120 per child, distributed on debit cards like those used to access food stamp benefits.
That’s in addition to actual meals and snacks that many Bexar County school districts distribute to students during the summers, through another federal program called Summer Meals.
Texas would have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Summer EBT program, and roughly $28 million would have gone to Bexar County families in its first year, according to a Texas Tribune analysis.
The state’s $60 million contribution was expected to cover a portion of the new Summer EBT program’s administrative fees — unlocking roughly $400 million in federal funding starting in 2027.
As Abbott signed the state’s overall $338 billion budget on Sunday, however, he said it didn’t make sense to start the summer lunch program when it wasn’t clear how much federal money would actually be available.
Summer EBT is a holdover from the Biden era, and the Trump administration has signaled plans for big cuts to the broader Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
“There is significant uncertainty regarding federal matching rates for this and other similar programs,” Abbott said in a line-item veto proclamation. “Once there is more clarity about the long-term fiscal ramifications for creating such a program, the Legislature can reconsider funding this item.”
Texas Democrats responded incredulously.
“The one thing he couldn’t stomach funding was the Summer EBT program that would have provided food assistance to kids when they lose access to school meals,” the Texas House Democratic Caucus said in a statement.
Texas had already missed the deadline to apply for the federal funds this year before the session had even started. A Democrat from Houston, state Rep. Armando Walle, led a crusade to get lawmakers from both chambers on board with budgeting the money for the future.
State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) said vetoing the money under the guise of federal uncertainty was disingenuous for a state that’s long resisted spending money on feeding, sheltering or providing health care to its most vulnerable residents.
“It’s about demonstrating strength, power and control through cruelty,” he said.
San Antonio ISD spokeswoman Laura Short said Monday that the state’s decision would not impact SAISD’s participation in the Seamless Summer Option Meal Program, which feeds children breakfast and lunch meals.
Reporter Xochilt Garcia contributed to this story.
