Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes funding for federal summer lunch program for low-income children

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Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed a $60 million budget measure that would have allowed Texas to enter a federal summer lunch program for low-income children.

The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, or Summer EBT program would have given qualifying families $120 per child to pay for lunches during the summer months in 2027. An estimated 3.75 million children statewide would have qualified.

The provision to join the program was tucked inside the state’s budget bill, Senate Bill 1. Texas would have had to pay part of the administration costs to tap into at least $400 million in federal support that would have paid for the lunch subsidies. But Abbott struck the provision in a list of vetoes released on Sunday.

“... There is significant uncertainty regarding federal matching rates for this and other similar programs,” the governor stated as his reason to reject the budget rider. “Once there is more clarity about the long-term fiscal ramifications for creating such a program, the Legislature can reconsider funding this item.”

A provision built into the state budget change would have canceled the appropriation if the current state-federal funding formula changes.

​​Right now, Congress is considering slashing the budget of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, what many people still refer to as food stamps.

There’s been no word on whether the Summer EBT program could face cuts.

Currently, 37 states participate in the federal summer lunch program for low-income families.

In 2024, a separate program served Texas children 12 million summer meals (snacks and lunches) at 4,480 sites statewide at a cost of $46.1 million, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Texas Democrats criticized Abbott’s action and reasoning.

“This was a baffling decision and I am disappointed on behalf of the millions of Texans who would have benefitted,” state Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, who worked during the session to have the proposal added, said in a statement. State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, called Abbott’s decision “devastating.”

“In a stunning display of misplaced priorities, Governor Abbott used his line-item veto power to eliminate just one Legislature-approved item from Texas’ $338 billion state budget: a $60 million program to feed hungry Texas children during summer months,” the Texas House Democratic Caucus said in a statement.

Celia Cole, the chief executive of Feeding Texas, which represents the state’s food banks, said the group was disappointed by Abbott’s veto.

“This program would have provided critical nutrition support to children during the summer months when school meals are unavailable and food insecurity often peaks,” she said.

Disclosure: Feeding Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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