A lot of times, your school will do a summer meal program and provide meals. Sometimes it’s the YMCA. Sometimes it’s the Boys and Girls Club. Sometimes food banks will have programs in addition to just providing food. So there are spots available. It’s just not as widespread as Summer EBT.
The report notes that lawmakers did set the stage for Tennessee returning to the Summer EBT program in 2027. Of course, the state will have a new Governor then, and that could throw a wrench – but, as it stands, the funding is available for Summer 2027.
Gov. Bill Lee has made it clear he doesn’t want to feed hungry kids in the summer if it means he has to take federal money to do so.
While this may seem a cruel way to prove a political point (the point, ostensibly that TN doesn’t NEED federal help), Bill Lee just doesn’t care.
He’s opted-out of a program known as Sun Bucks two years in a row – in spite many hunger and education advocates encouraging him to participate.
Oh, and this starvation scheme doesn’t save the state any money – in the federal program, TN spends about $5 million to draw down $84 million. Those federal funds ensure some 700,000 kids get some meal help in the summer. Lee took that same $5 million in state funds and created a much smaller program – one that only feeds 25,000 kids. That’s a terrible ROI. It seems Lee’s capitalist supporters would be shocked at his terrible business sense on this one.
Or, well, just shocked that he’d starve kids and not even save the state some cash.
In an apparent rebuke to the governor, two rural Republicans — Sen. Paul Bailey of Sparta and Rep. Michael Hale of Sparta — are sponsoring a bill to require the state to apply for the federal Summer EBT funding. In past years, the program has distributed $84 million in federal funding to low-income families to help them buy their children food at the grocery store when school is out.
So far, a bipartisan group of 30 lawmakers have signed on – and the bill has passed unanimously in every committee where its been heard.
Will these lawmakers prevail?
And where do the current candidates for Gov stand on feeding hungry kids over the summer?
Despite the urging of county mayors, child advocates, clergy and educators, Gov. Bill Lee has declined to secure millions of dollars in federal funding to provide food to low-income kids by the government’s Jan. 1 deadline.
Lee joins a group of a dozen GOP governors who are refusing summer EBT benefits at the behest of Trump, who wants states to be less “dependent” on the federal government.
And, apparently, Lee is willing to score political points even if it means hundreds of thousands of kids face food insecurity.
Which, by the way, what kind of sick political game creates incentives for actively promoting childhood hunger?
Yes, all school meals should be free for every kid every day.
But for now, free meals are limited to those who fill out forms and qualify based on income.
Lee has an opportunity to accept federal funds for 2026 -and the deadline for that decision is fast-approaching (It’s January 1st).
Groups are asking Lee to take action – County Mayors, pastors, and more are calling on Lee to accept the funds that help some 700,000 kids access food assistance in the summer.
Below is a statement from the Tennessee High School Democrats:
What Tennessee kids want for Christmas is Summer EBT funding
Gov. Bill Lee took Tennessee out of the Sun Bucks program in 2025.
Sun Bucks is a Summer EBT program through SNAP that provides extra funds ($120) to help bridge the summer gap while kids are not getting meals at school.
Now, Lee must once again decide what to do about Sun Bucks – will he take the money in 2026 and feed as many as 700,000 kids? Or, will he return to his failed 2025 model that only helped a few thousand?
We respectfully write to you to implore you to take immediate action to address the nutrition needs of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children. We write not merely as constituents, but as people of faith. We recognize and appreciate your public commitment to leading our state with a heart for the “least of these,” and it is in this spirit of shared moral responsibility that we—314 faith leaders from across the state—petition you to intervene for the 700,000 children in Tennessee whose health and future depend on a decision that must be made before January 1.
Will Gov. Bill Lee do the right thing in the last year of his term? Will he accept federal assistance for Sun Bucks – a summer EBT program that provides help for families with kids who receive free or reduced lunch?
Probably not.
But, local elected officials are asking him to.
33 County Mayors are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to participate in the federal Sun Bucks program in 2026.
The local leaders penned a letter to Lee asking him not to forego the summer program that provides additional EBT funds for families during the summer. The program is designed to provide additional assistance during a time when kids are unable to get free or reduced-cost meals at school.
Lee refused to participate in Sun Bucks last summer – and left hundreds of thousands of kids without the food assistance their families need.
