SC Dems urge McMaster to reconsider move to reject federal money to feed disadvantaged kids

South Carolina Democrats are calling for Gov. Henry McMaster to reconsider a decision not to accept federal money to help feed kids from low-income families over the summer.

Disadvantaged children in South Carolina routinely eat school meals during the school year, as their families are unable to provide adequate resources for food, especially during the summer break. While a federal program would help to alleviate the hunger gap by offering $120 per eligible child each summer for food, McMaster, recently turned down the offer.

Now, Democrats in the South Carolina House and Senate are calling on McMaster to reconsider his position.

“We are looking at politicizing the feeding of children who are hungry,” said state Sen. Mike Flanning, D-Fairfield. “Let me be clear your federal tax dollars will be used to feed hungry children. The only question is, are your federal tax dollars going to feed hungry children in Chicago, New York and LA? Or will your federal tax dollars be used to feed hungry children right here in South Carolina? Today we stand in unity behind South Carolina’s hungry children.”

When asked about his decision to forgo federal money for the program, McMaster skirted the issue.

“That was a COVID related benefit, extra,” McMaster said during a recent news conference. “We’ve got to get back to doing normal business, we just can’t continue that forever.”

The program, facilitated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, aims to permanently provide food over the summer for needy children. Dubbed the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer, the initiative has been accepted by 35 other states, all five U.S. Territories and four Indian Tribes.

It’s a plan launched with bipartisan support in Congress, and advances a vision by the Biden-Harris Administration to enhance food and nutrition security, while improving food access and affordability.

Food insecurity in South Carolina is higher than the national average, according to data from the USDA. And “more than 20% of children in the state live in ‘food insecure’ homes, meaning there isn’t enough food for every family member to lead a healthy life”, according to researchers at the University of South Carolina.

“Food insecurity is a real issue In South Carolina,” said state Rep. Wendell Jones, D-Greenville. “We exceed the national average by about 300 basis points. That means that there are real families who are concerned about being able to feed themselves every night. These are the same families that we count on to continue to produce this economy that we keep bragging off. I’ll tell you what it’s hard to be a productive worker when you’re worried about if your children are eating.”

While McMaster has opted South Carolina out of the program, legislators are urging him to reconsider his position.

“We have folks standing today asking our governor to change his mind and do what the Scripture tells us to do, and that is feed our children,” Fanning said.

Fanning, who serves on the Senate’s budget committee, said notwithstanding McMaster’s move, he plans to push for funding the initiative via the the state’s budget, emphasizing, however, that “not a single dime of state money is needed to feed these kids.”

The USDA offers a slew of resources, including training to those that have opted into the program, as 2024 marks the start of the initiative.

“No kid should have to spend their summer hungry, or without nutritious food,” said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Torres Small in a news release last week. “Summer EBT is a giant step forward in meeting the needs of our nation’s children and families throughout the year, and especially in the summer months.”