Oziel Rios,8, eats lunch at Andrew Jackson Elementary Wednesday, Jan. 17 2024 in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])School lunch cafeteria at Flores Zapata Elementary in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Children in the Rio Grande Valley and the rest of the state are being left out of a new federal program aimed at helping address food insecurity during the summer break. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Children grab their school lunch at Andrew Jackson Elementary Wednesday, Jan. 17 2024 in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Texas is among 15 states choosing not to participate this year in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Children line up for school lunch at Flores Zapata Elementary School Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])In Texas, nearly 1 in 6 households, or more than 1.7 million families, are food insecure, according to Feeding Texas. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Children eat their lunch at Flores Zapata Elementary school Friday, Jan. 12 2024 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Sweet potato fries are seen during lunch at Flores Zapata Elementary school Friday, Jan. 12 2024 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])More than 29 million children across the country stand to benefit from the program, according to USDA’s estimate. Summer EBT essentially serves as a backstop to summer meal programs already offered by school districts across the country. Meanwhile, food insecurity in Texas is nowhere more acute than in the Valley. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])Children in line for lunch at Flores Zapata Elementary school Friday, Jan. 12 2024 in Edinburg. (Delcia Lopez| [email protected])
