AGA Magazine Issue 2 Proof

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

2025 SUMMER EBT SECURED IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Summer can be the hungriest time of year for families with school-age children. When the school year ends, thousands of Alabama children from households with low incomes lose access to the school meals they rely on. The Summer Nutrition Programs, such as SUN Meals/Summer Meals, offer free meals and snacks to children of all ages during the summer at nearby schools, parks, and other neighborhood locations. These programs are designed to replace school meals during the summer break and are crucial in reducing childhood hunger. Additionally, they often include educational and enrichment activities. Despite these benefits, Summer Meals reach only a fraction of the children who ely on free and reduced price school meals during the school year.

For example, during the summer of 2022, Alabama’s summer feeding programs reached only 6% of the children who qualify for free and reduced meals during the school year. This means 94% of children who rely on meals do not have access to them over the summer. In fifteen counties there is no access to Summer Meals at all. Additionally, Alabama has recently seen a decline in the number of summer feeding sites. In December 2022, a bipartisan US Congress created a new, permanent program for States and certain Indian Tribal Organizations to provide food dollars to low-income families with school-age children over the summer months. In December 2022, a bipartisan US Congress created a new, permanent program for States and certain Indian

Ellie Taylor President/CEO Alabama Grocers Association

2024 was an incredibly hard legislative session with difficult and serious issues such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Gambling; IVF; and School Choice that dominated the legislative landscape. One of the bright lights in the session was the $10 million allocation in the Education Trust Fund to the Alabama Department of Human Resources for implementation of the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program. A broad coalition of organizations including the Alabama Grocers Association, actively lobbied to ensure Summer EBT was part of the 2025 budget.

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6 | ALABAMA GROCER