(C) Common Dreams This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Tribes step in to feed kids as Gov. Kevin Stitt declines federal funding for Summer EBT [1] ['Felix Clary Tulsa World', 'Felix Clary', 'Art Haddaway', 'Owasso Reporter Archive'] Date: 2024-01 Felix Clary Tulsa World Indigenous Affairs Reporter Follow Felix Clary Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Three Oklahoma tribes will continues to provide Summer EBT food program funding for low-income children on their reservations, while Gov. Kevin Stitt opted the state out of the program for 2024. The Summer EBT program is designed to assist families during the summer months when school is out of session. Each child from a low-income family will receive $40 per month for supplemental food. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told the Tulsa World on Friday: “I think it is mystifying that the state of Oklahoma would cut low-income children off from an additional source for food insecurity this summer. That’s not what I think we need to be doing in this state, and that’s why, for another year, I will be administering this program for both native and non-Native children.” Stitt’s spokeswoman, Abegail Cave, has been quoted as saying Stitt’s concern is that the program’s rules have not been finalized and that there are already other food resources for children in Oklahoma, such as SNAP benefits, the Oklahoma State Department of Education Summer Food Program and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s Summer Feeding Program. But the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes have plans to offer the program, providing nearly $50 million to low-income households on their reservations. This would cover Grady, McClain, Garvin, Pontotoc, Stephens, Carter, Murray, Johnston, Jefferson, Love, Marshall, Bryan, Coal, Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah, Wagoner, Washington, Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg, Hughes Coal, LeFlore, Atoka, McCurtain, Pushmataha, Choctaw and part of Tulsa counties. Oklahoma is the only state to have tribal nations participating in the program thus far, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hoskin said that like states, tribal nations have the opportunity to leverage a relatively modest administrative cost share and receive federal funds that positively impact families in need. In the past year, the Cherokee Nation was awarded about $3.5 million in federal funding for this program. The tribe’s administrative cost is about $250,000, which Hoskin said is minimal compared to the impact on low-income children and families. The Cherokee Nation has participated in the program for about five years and this past year served about 7,000 families. “When our program application opens in the spring,” Hoskin said, “we do expect more children will apply. … We welcome this potential increase in participation as an opportunity to help more Oklahoma children living within our reservation.” The Chickasaw Nation has been implementing this program since 2012 to play a significant role in reducing hunger among Oklahoma children, serving more than 47,000 children in 2023. Households earning up to 185% of the federal poverty line are already eligible for reduced-price lunches in public schools, but during the summer, these school lunches are not an option. A recent report found 1 in 5 Oklahoma children experience food insecurity, with about 60% of students eligible for free and reduced lunches. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. [END] --- [1] Url: https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/tribes-step-in-to-feed-kids-as-gov-kevin-stitt-declines-federal-funding-for-summer/article_b92a9ed4-ac0c-11ee-adff-efe78194d58a.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share Published and (C) by Common Dreams Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/