51¶ÌÊÓƵ

HHS officials on Monday told the Legislative Fiscal Office that the department won't apply forÌýSummer EBT, a new federal program that would provide students who receive free or reduced-price lunch at school with an EBT card with $120 in benefits to spend on groceries during next summer.

The program would provide about $18 million in benefits to be distributed to about 150,000Ìýlow-income children in Nebraska who experience food insecurity in the summer months.

The state, which has until Jan. 1 to apply for the aid, would have toÌý, according to Nebraska Appleseed, a nonprofit that focuses on child welfare, among other things.

At least 14 other states have signed onto the program.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday toÌýHHS urging department officials to rethink their decision not to participate in the program, which they said would both ensure that Nebraska addresses the needs of its vulnerable children and benefit the state economically.

“I’ve said this before, if kids go hungry in our state, that is a massive failure on our part as legislators,� Sen. Jen Day of Omaha, who led the effort, said in a statement Wednesday.

“Deciding not to participate in this program is a message to Nebraskans that their representatives are out of touch with their very real, very immediate needs," Day said. "I strongly urge DHHS to reconsider their stance on this.�

Day was joined in the letter by Sens. Carolyn Bosn, Eliot Bostar, George Dungan, Jane Raybould and Danielle Conrad, all of Lincoln,ÌýJana Hughes of Seward, Machaela Cavanaugh, John Cavanaugh, Megan Hunt, Tony Vargas, Terrell McKinney and John Fredrickson,Ìýall of Omaha,ÌýLynn Walz of Fremont and Carol Blood ofÌýBellevue.

In an email, HHS spokesman Jeff Powell said the program was designed amid the pandemic and "no longer fits the needs of Nebraskans."

He said HHS has alternatively opted to continue utilizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's longstandingÌýSummer Food Service Program, which Powell said is designed to meet the needs of school children during the summer months and reimburses operators who serve free, healthy meals and snacks to children and teensÌýat summer sites in low-income communities.

"In addition to healthy meals, these programs may offer enrichment activities, such as reading, physical activity, or nutrition education" that Summer EBT doesn't offer, Powell said.

Powell said the Summer Food Service ProgramÌýthat HHS plans to continue with also allows program organizers to interact with children in a safe and supervised environment, ensuring their needs are met during the summer months and identifying whether additional services to the child may be required.

HeÌýnoted, too, that SNAP benefits are available to meet the needs of low-income Nebraskans year-round.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Pillen, who heads the executive branch and , did not respond to a request for commentÌýWednesday.