Paul Hammel
LINCOLN — Standing outside the Governor’s Mansion, educators, legislators and other advocates made a final plea Friday for Gov. Jim Pillen to change his mind and participate in a federal program that increases grocery-buying funds for low-income families.
Friday was the last working day prior to the Jan. 1 deadline for Nebraska to join 23 other states in the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, which advocates maintain would help feed 150,000 children when they’re out of school next summer.
“I call on the governor to put politics aside and do the right thing for the right people … in this case, our kids,” Preston Love, an Omaha community activist, told about 30 people gathered outside the Governor’s Residence.
Pillen reiterated Friday that he isn’t changing his mind and is joining neighboring red states South Dakota and Iowa in rejecting the federal funds.
‘COVID-19 is over’
“COVID-19 is over and Nebraska taxpayers expect that pandemic-era government relief programs will end too,” said the Republican governor in a press release.
But, at Friday’s rally, State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln said “a host” of other avenues are being explored to bring Nebraska the $18 million in federal funds for the summer food program.
Those include seeking a waiver or extension of the deadline to apply, seeking other state or local governments to apply for the money and exploring whether private entities could cover the state’s expected administrative costs of $300,000. Gretna Sen. Jen Day has also pledged to seek a legislative solution in the 2024 session that begins next week.
“Rather than pointing fingers or calling names, we’re going to continue working for Nebraska kids,” said Conrad, a leading Democrat in the nonpartisan Legislature.
Additional $120 over three months
The program would put an additional $120 in grocery-buying money into the EBT cards issued to low-income families to buy food over the summer of 2024.
Federal aid
While Gov. Pillen has said he didn’t support “welfare” while rejecting federal funds for the Summer EBT, his family businesses have been recipients of federal aid in the past.
Earlier this year, a Fremont pork-processing plant partially owned by the governor and his family received a $25 million grant to expand operations.
In 2020, Pillen Holdings II LLC received $879,106 in federal agriculture subsidies, according to federal records.
Sixteen businesses associated with the governor got $7.8 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The companies later returned more than $5 million of those funds, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
Following Pillen’s Dec. 19 decision not to participate in the program, the governor stated that he doesn’t “believe in welfare.”
At Friday’s rally, speakers criticized that characterization of the food aid.
“Why would we even question that people and children deserve food?” Jenni Benson, the president of the state teacher’s union, the Nebraska State Education Association, asked at the rally.
Omaha Sen. Tony Vargas said one concern he’s been hearing from legislative colleagues is why Nebraska is turning down $18 million in federal funds that had been contributed by state taxpayers.
He said that there’s a “moral obligation” to take care of our neighbors, but also a need for the state to obtain all the federal funds it deserves.
“For $300,000, we’re getting a 60-to-1 return on our investment,” Vargas said.
In recent days, the call for Pillen to change his mind has ramped up.
On Friday, Nebraska Appleseed, which advocates for the poor, submitted a petition signed by 6,144 people from 230 Nebraska communities calling on the governor to participate in the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program.
The petitions included comments from several families who said that they were struggling to make ends meet and that the extra food aid in the summer would make a big difference while their children aren’t getting fed at schools.
Summer hunger is ‘heart-wrenching’
“Summer hunger is a regular and heart-wrenching event for families and children. Support, like the kind offered through Summer EBT, can help more children get the food they need in all corners of our state,” said Eric Savaiano, manager of Appleseed’s food access efforts, in a press release.
In addition, the City of La Vista sent a letter Thursday, signed by the mayor and all eight members of its city council, urging Pillen to reconsider.
The letter stated that 52% to 67% of children in three Title 1 schools in La Vista would qualify for the additional grocery aid and that an existing summer food aid program at schools — which Pillen has suggested is sufficient — operates for only one out of the three summer months.
“The educational, health and behavioral benefits of providing stable access to food resources to Nebraska children will far outweigh the projected (administrative) costs” of the Summer EBT program, the La Vista letter stated.
Governor says kids won’t go hungry
Pillen, in a press release Friday, said his refusal of the EBT program “does not mean that hungry kids will lose access to summer nutrition programs.”
He cited the existing USDA Summer Food Services Program, pointing out that children are fed “on-site by trained program providers” that ensure “healthy meals and snacks, as well as access to educational and enrichment activities.”
Advocates at Friday’s rally, however, said that the existing program is inadequate, and doesn’t reach thousands of kids who don’t participate in summer school or camps. They add that Nebraska has the lowest participation rate in the current summer school food program, and that sites for such meals have been declining.
The rally followed an eight-day vigil outside the governor’s mansion conducted by an Omaha anti-poverty activist, Paul Feilmann, to protest the governor’s decision.