(The Hill) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Wednesday that nearly 21 million children will receive expanded grocery benefits this summer across all but 15 states. 

The USDA said summer 2024 will be the first launch of its new permanent grocery program for children, called Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer. States will give eligible families $40 per month for each child under this new program, which Congress approved in 2022.

“Summer grocery benefits are becoming a reality for many communities across the nation and for tens of millions of children who will receive the nutrition they need to grow, learn, and thrive,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. 

Thirty-five states, five territories and four Native American tribes opted into the program for this summer. The USDA said the program would cover approximately 70% of the eligible children in its inaugural launch, and that it hopes to continue expanding. 

Fifteen states did not opt into the program, with many Republican state officials saying that their state did not need the funds or that they did not have the capabilities to run this program. 

Those states include Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) suggested that the state did not need the program, pointing to high rates of childhood obesity as a reason why they should not expand grocery benefits for children. 

“Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don’t provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” Reynolds said in a statement.

She said if the federal government wants to help “family well-being,” it should “invest in already existing programs and infrastructure at the state level and give us the flexibility to tailor them to our state’s needs.”

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) emphasized that his state would not take the extra funds, pointing to already existing summer nutrition programs for children in the state. 

“COVID-19 is over and Nebraska taxpayers expect that pandemic-era government relief programs will end too,” he said in a statement.

“To be clear, this does not mean that hungry kids will lose access to summer nutrition programs. Nebraska continues to participate in the existing USDA Summer Food Services Program (SFSB), which best ensures access to nutritious food options and protective services to children who are in need,” he added.