States Turned Down $1.2 Billion to Feed 10 Million Children This Summer
Summary
Summer EBT pays $120 per child for groceries when school lunch stops — entirely federal money, with Washington also covering half of what it costs states to run it. In 2026, thirteen states declined to operate the program at all, per the Food Research & Action Center, leaving more than 10 million eligible children without the benefit. Texas's governor vetoed the $60 million state match that would have unlocked an estimated $450 million for the state's kids.
The money that isn't moving
Every child eligible for Summer EBT is worth $120 in grocery benefits under USDA's 2026 benefit-level notice — more in Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories, where food costs more. Line that rate up against the Food Research & Action Center's count of eligible children in the 13 states not running the program in 2026, and roughly a third of the $3.7 billion nationally available in Summer EBT this year never reaches a family at all.
View data as table
| Nationally eligible children ($120/child rate) | $3.71B | 30,906,000 children |
|---|---|---|
| Reached in participating states (derived) | $2.50B | ≈20.8M children |
| Foregone in 13 opt-out states | $1.21B | FRAC estimate, over 10.1M children |
That $1.2 billion isn't held back by or fought over in Congress. It simply never gets drawn down, because the state agency that would submit the paperwork never signs up to do it.
The same gap, counted in children
View data as table
| Texas | 3,752,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 2,158,000 | |
| Georgia | 1,156,000 | |
| Indiana | 669,000 | |
| Tennessee | 644,000 | |
| South Carolina | 543,000 | |
| Oklahoma | 403,000 | |
| Mississippi | 324,000 | |
| Idaho | 107,000 | |
| Alaska | 58,000 | |
| South Dakota | 57,000 | |
| Wyoming | 32,000 | |
| 12-state total shown | 9,903,000 | Utah, the 13th opt-out state, not shown — no published 2026 figure |
Texas alone accounts for more children shut out than the other eleven states shown here combined. Florida and Georgia add another 3.3 million. A thirteenth state, Utah, also opted out for 2026 after running the program in 2025, but FRAC's compiled eligibility table has no updated figure for it, so it isn't counted in the 9.9 million shown above — the true 13-state total is higher.
Texas did the math and vetoed the answer
Texas has never run Summer EBT. The state's 2026–27 budget, Senate Bill 1, included a $60 million rider — Sec. 17.30 — to fund the administrative match that would have let Texas join. Governor Greg Abbott line-item vetoed it on June 22, 2025, writing in the official proclamation that "there is significant uncertainty regarding federal matching rates for this and other similar programs" and that the legislature could "reconsider funding this item" once there was more clarity. The Summer EBT administrative match is fixed by federal rule at 50/50 — it isn't tied to 's matching rate, the program Abbott's proclamation cited as the source of the uncertainty.
View data as table
| State match Abbott vetoed | $60M | SB 1, Sec. 17.30, vetoed June 22, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Federal benefit forgone | $450.2M | $120 x 3,752,000 eligible Texas children |
For every dollar of state match Texas declined to spend, the state walked away from $7.50 in federal grocery money for 3.75 million children — money that would have flowed through the state's own child-nutrition agency, spent at the state's own grocery stores.
The takeaway
- The benefit is free. Running it isn't. Washington pays 100% of the $120-per-child grocery benefit and 50% of the administrative cost of distributing it — the only bill a state faces is the other half of the paperwork.
- Thirteen states chose not to pay that half. The result, per FRAC, is more than 10 million eligible children and over $1.2 billion in grocery money that never reaches a family in 2026.
- Texas priced its own decision. A $60 million match would have drawn down an estimated $450 million — a 7.5-to-1 return the state's governor vetoed over a rationale the program's own funding rules don't support.
Eligibility figures are -sourced estimates compiled by FRAC in 2026, built on a per-state dataset originally published in 2023; actual 2026 enrollment in participating states will differ from eligibility. Dollar figures apply the $120 base rate uniformly and so slightly understate totals in Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories, which are paid at higher per-child rates.
Sources
- Food and Nutrition Service, Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Program; 2026 Benefit Levels — the official $120-per-child 2026 rate for the 48 states and D.C., and the higher rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories. federalregister.gov, 91 FR 21396
- Food and Nutrition Service, Summer EBT Administrative Funding Process (SEBT 01-2024/FM 01-2024) — the 50/50 federal-state administrative cost-share rule cited in the Texas section. fns-prod.azureedge.us
- Food Research & Action Center, Over 10 Million Children Will Miss Out on Summer EBT Food Benefits in 2026 — the 10.1-million-children and $1.2-billion national estimates, and the list of 13 non-participating states. frac.org
- Food Research & Action Center, Estimated Number of Children Eligible for Summer EBT by State — the state-by-state and national (30,906,000) eligibility figures, compiled from 's 2023 data, used in the state-level chart. frac.org (PDF)
- Idaho Capital Sun / Stateline, 13 states with Republican governors opt out of summer food program for kids — contemporary reporting cross-checking the non-participation list. idahocapitalsun.com
- Office of the Governor of Texas, Senate Bill 1 line-item veto proclamation (June 22, 2025), Sec. 17.30 — the official record of Governor Abbott's veto of Texas's Summer EBT administrative match and his stated rationale. gov.texas.gov (PDF)
- The Texas Tribune, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes funding for federal summer lunch program for low-income children — the $60 million state cost, the estimated $450 million in federal benefits, and the 3.75 million eligible Texas children. texastribune.org
- Community Impact, Texas will not join federal summer meals program after Gov. Abbott vetoes $60M in funding — corroborating figures on the Texas veto. communityimpact.com
Comments
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Summer EBT is not a grant application or a means-tested lottery. A child already certified for free or reduced-price school lunch is automatically eligible. The federal government pays the entire $120 benefit and half of whatever it costs a state to administer it. All a state has to do is say yes and cover the other half of the paperwork. In 2026, thirteen states — all with Republican governors — said no.