Current:Home > FinanceAn Alabama Senate committee votes to reverse course, fund summer food program for low-income kids-InfoLens
An Alabama Senate committee votes to reverse course, fund summer food program for low-income kids
View Date:2024-12-23 14:57:13
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama Senate committee on Tuesday voted to set aside money so that the state can reverse course and participate in a federal program that gives summer food assistance to low-income families with school-age children.
Alabama was one of 14 states that declined to participate in the Summer EBT, or Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children. It provides families $40 per month to spend on groceries for each child who receives free or reduced-price school lunches during the school year. The program aims to augment summer meal sites to help combat food insecurity during the summer months.
The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee voted to allocate $10 million to the Education Trust Fund so the state can participate next year. The spending bill now moves to the full Senate for review.
Alabama participated in the pandemic version of the program. Congress in 2022 made the program permanent effective this summer. States split the program’s administrative costs, but the federal government pays for the food benefits.
Advocacy groups had urged lawmakers to fund the program.
LaTrell Clifford Wood, a hunger policy analyst with Alabama Arise, said the program “will help reduce food insecurity for more than 500,000 Alabama children.”
“These benefits will help ensure that children can continue getting the nutritious food they need when school meals are unavailable,” Clifford Wood said.
veryGood! (99583)
Related
- Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
- US troops targeted again in Iraq after retribution airstrikes
- 2024 GOP hopefuls will defend Israel, seek donors at big Republican Jewish Coalition gathering
- Four Gulf of Mexico federal tracts designated for wind power development by Biden administration
- Dwayne Johnson Admits to Peeing in Bottles on Set After Behavior Controversy
- The Best TikTok-Famous Fragrances on PerfumeTok That are Actually Worth the Money
- South Koreans hold subdued Halloween celebrations a year after party crush killed about 160 people
- Disney says DeSantis-appointed district is dragging feet in providing documents for lawsuit
- 10 Trendy Bags To Bring to All of Your Holiday Plans
- Shooting on I-190 in Buffalo leaves 1 dead, 2 injured
Ranking
- Sean Diddy Combs' Lawyers File New Motion for Bail, Claiming Evidence Depicts a Consensual Relationship
- Israel resists U.N.'s calls for ceasefire as Hamas says Gaza death toll is soaring
- Taylor Swift becomes a billionaire with new re-recording of 1989 album
- 2024 GOP hopefuls will defend Israel, seek donors at big Republican Jewish Coalition gathering
- Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
- 11 Spook-tacular Sales To Shop This Weekend: Aerie, Chewy, Madewell, Nordstrom Rack, Ulta & More
- Spain’s report on Catholic Church sex abuse estimates victims could number in hundreds of thousands
- What we know about the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal
Recommendation
-
Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
-
Republican moves ahead with effort to expel George Santos from House
-
COVID-19 treatments to enter the market with a hefty price tag
-
The Biden administration is encouraging the conversion of empty office space to affordable housing
-
The Best Corduroy Pants Deals from J.Crew Outlet, Old Navy, Levi’s & More, Starting at $26
-
West Virginia school system mandates religious training following revival assembly lawsuit
-
How a South Dakota priest inspired 125 years of direct democracy — and the fight to preserve it
-
The pandas at the National Zoo are going back to China earlier than expected: What to know