Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s quiet decision to forgo $1.1 million in federal funding for the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program has ignited a fierce debate among lawmakers, advocates and families over the state’s priorities and values, especially when it comes to the well-being of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. Lee’s decision could leave 700,000 low-income children without access to summer meals in 2025.
The Summer EBT program, created during the pandemic and later made permanent by Congress, provides financial support to ensure children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals have access to nutritious food during summer break. Under the program, families receive a debit card preloaded with $40 per month per eligible child, restricted for use on food. In Tennessee last year, this initiative — branded as "Sun Bucks" — issued $120 to each child over three months, injecting an estimated $77 million into local grocery stores and generating up to $140 million in economic activity.
But that impact is now in jeopardy.
Governor Lee’s administration, which already signaled its reluctance to renew the program last year, allowed the state’s participation to lapse by quietly missing the Jan. 1 renewal deadline. In a statement given to NBC News, Lee’s office justified the decision by citing administrative costs.
“The Summer EBT program was established in the pandemic-era to supplement existing food assistance programs in an extraordinary circumstance,” press secretary Elizabeth Lane Johnson wrote. “The federal government has increasingly shifted the administrative cost burden to the states, prompting Tennessee not to renew our participation, as the program is mostly duplicative.”
Johnson added that the Summer Food Service Program served about 3.4 million free meals to children in Tennessee this year.
However, critics argue the administration’s rationale is both insufficient and out of touch with the realities faced by struggling families. U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) called the move “a moral failure” in a letter to Lee, urging him to reconsider. Cohen cited data from the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy, which found that 40% of Tennessee families experience food insecurity.
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“Feeding our children is not just a matter of public policy — it is a moral imperative,” Cohen wrote, according to the Memphis Flyer. “Well-nourished children are better able to learn, grow, and lead healthy, well-adjusted lives.”
Tennessee House Democrats have also been vocal. They criticized Lee on social media, comparing him to the Grinch in a meme that read: “Will the Governor steal your child’s summer meals?” Accompanying the image was a rhyming post styled after ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, urging Tennesseans to call Lee’s office in protest: “‘Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the state, Tennesseans were begging Gov. Lee to stop with the hate.”
Advocacy groups are equally alarmed. A coalition of more than two dozen community organizations — including school officials, food banks and child welfare advocates — penned a letter to the governor in December. They warned that rejecting Summer EBT funding would not only harm children but also undercut local economies.
“Every dollar spent on this program generates between $1.50 and $1.80 in economic activity,” the letter stated. “The decision to decline these funds will have far-reaching consequences for families and communities alike.”
Tennessee isn’t the first state to reject federal funding for Summer EBT; last year, 15 Republican-led states, ranging from Alaska to Georgia, opted out of the program. States like Iowa have similarly cited administrative costs and a preference for investing in existing programs. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds argued that EBT cards do little to promote nutrition, framing her decision as part of a broader strategy to address childhood obesity.
"To know that the governor doesn’t want to help in the one little way he could is heartbreaking."
Yet, critics of this stance point out that many of these states already face high rates of food insecurity, and federal programs like Summer EBT are designed to supplement, not replace, state-level efforts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, estimates that 21 million children nationwide benefited from Summer EBT in 2023.
For families in Tennessee, the impact of the decision is deeply personal. Bobbi Jo Miller, a single mother of three who cannot work because she is disabled, told NBC News Summer EBT funds enabled her to buy additional staples such as eggs, milk, bread and cereal. When she heard Lee didn’t plan to renew the program in 2025, she cried.
“I have a very fixed income,” she said. “To know that the governor doesn’t want to help in the one little way he could is heartbreaking.”
Representative Cohen and other lawmakers have called for a detailed explanation of Lee’s decision by January 17. Meanwhile, advocates are urging the governor to reverse course before the next funding cycle begins. Whether Lee’s administration will reconsider remains uncertain. As the debate continues, the stakes are clear. For hundreds of thousands of Tennessee children, the question of whether they will have enough to eat this summer now hangs in the balance.
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