House kills bill to participate in summer food program for kids

Wyoming elected officials have again declined an opportunity to participate in a federal program to assist income-qualified children with summer food needs. 

The House of Representatives on Monday defeated House Bill 341, “Summer nutrition assistance for children,” by a 25-34 vote. The bill would have directed state participation in the USDA Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer, commonly known as SUN Bucks, and established duties for state agencies to administer it. 

The program, which aims at supplementing food needs during the months when kids don’t have access to school lunches, would furnish income-qualified families with a debit card loaded with $120 per student — or $40 per month. They could spend the funds on groceries that include fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, breads, cereals, snack foods and non-alcoholic drinks. 

“Right now in Wyoming, one out of five children, or 20%, are food insecure,” bill sponsor Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, said on the House floor. “Even though we’re making progress, there’s still a ways to go.”

This program has proven effective at decreasing food insecurity, he said. 

The measure had the support of First Lady Jennie Gordon, the Northern Arapaho Business Council and the American Heart Association. It would bring $3.8 million of federal benefit directly to local communities, Department of Family Services Director Korin Schmidt testified last week.

When it was brought to the entire House for first consideration Monday, however, Wyoming Freedom Caucus Chairwoman Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, questioned it. 

“I’ve heard a couple of negative things from other states that are doing this,” she said, “that there’s kind of a scheme to increase state dependency when it comes to expansion of school meal eligibility.”

When it came to a final vote, the Freedom Caucus bloc helped to defeat it. 

Wyoming also opted out in 2024, with Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder calling it a welfare program disguised as a benefit for kids. 

Support and skepticism  

The Biden administration launched the USDA-funded summer program in 2024. 

Summer electronic benefit transfers reduce child hunger and improve diet quality, according to evaluations of a multi-year demonstration project cited by the agency. The project decreased the number of kids with very low food security by about one-third and supported healthier diets, USDA said.

“The one thing that we do know is that this approach to getting nutritional food into the hands of children and to families has worked better to date than any other type of program,” Larsen said. 

Potential flaws came up when the House Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Committee considered the bill last week. A major concern involved the types of foods eligible families can buy; they include sugary sodas and highly processed snacks. 

Larsen acknowledged Monday that it’s not faultless. He said research shows that about 20% of the benefit funds are spent on “sweets and drinks,” but about 40% goes toward food basics. “So although it’s not perfect, it certainly is a much better avenue than what we’re currently trying.”

The bill would place program administration under the Wyoming Department of Family Services and would create three temporary jobs to implement the task. DFS would communicate with the education department to identify students who qualify for free or reduced school lunches. The bill included a stipulation that if the federal program were to lapse, Wyoming would be off the hook to administer it.

The measure was written to align with the goals of Gordon’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative, Larsen said. 

In comments emailed to WyoFile, Gordon listed reasons why she backed it. 

Statewide, more than 35,000 kids — or 42% of students — are enrolled in free or reduced meals, she said, showing a significant need. While there are summer food programs, they can be out of reach for kids who live in rural areas and don’t exist everywhere.

Furthermore, she said, in the last six months, mobile food pantries have shuttered or are scheduled to end in Rawlins, Guernsey, Marbleton, Moorcroft and Lusk. Pantries have also closed in Natrona and Converse counties in recent years. 

“I have serious concerns with food insecurity and the systems that support our neighbors in need,” Gordon said. “In Wyoming we call our children our most important and precious resource. Supporting them with nutrition is imperative for growing minds and bodies.”

Nationally, 37 states have signed on to SUN Bucks, including Montana, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska.