Statement by Commissioner Nikki Fried on Application Submitted for More than $1 Billion in P-EBT Funding

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, in response to the news that Governor DeSantis has finally submitted an application for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) summer funding after weeks of rejecting calls to apply for the supplemental federal child nutrition program, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried issued the following statement:

“I’m relieved that Florida families will finally be able to access this benefit to help them afford food for their kids. It’s a shame that it took weeks of effort from my department and anti-hunger advocates across the state to convince Governor DeSantis to do something so easy that will help so many families. My department and I are now eagerly awaiting his application for the nutrition aid that is available for this current school year.”

Background: Commissioner Fried has called on Governor DeSantis for weeks to apply for the P-EBT funding that is retroactively available for this past summer, which will provide more than $1 billion to the state and $375 per child for eligible families. The United States Department of Agriculture has also opened applications for P-EBT funding for the current school year.

In Florida, the P-EBT program is administered by DCF in partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). FDACS did not have the authority to apply for the funding on its own because DCF is the lead agency. FDACS administers a completely separate summer nutrition program, called the Summer Food Service Program. On average, that program serves between 14 and 16 million meals per summer to children across Florida. This past summer, the program served over 18.5 million meal and added more than 1,400 additional meal sites across the state. It is official USDA policy[ ] that summer food assistance programs have difficulty addressing the full extent of need and gaps remain – which is why additional funding from the P-EBT program is crucial in addressing new challenges presented by the pandemic. 

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