Appropriations subcommittee declines full summer EBT request; advocates urge restoration to reach children in rural areas

The House Appropriations Subcommittee (Section B) discussed but did not adopt the executive decision package that would have funded a statewide Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) program at the levels requested in the governor’s budget.

What the hearing covered: lawmakers, LFD staff and DPHHS representatives outlined how Summer EBT works and how it overlaps with the long‑standing Summer Food Service Program administered through the Office of Public Instruction (OPI). Members heard data from agency and LFD staff about usage in Montana’s first pilot year and were told the federal Food and Nutrition Service offers Summer EBT under state plans.

Program details discussed in testimony - Cards and benefits: DPHHS and legislative staff said state plans used by other jurisdictions provided households a benefit on an EBT card, and the department said the pilot issued about 47,000 cards and roughly 29,000 were used in Montana’s first year. Staff described each card as loaded with $120 for the summer period in the pilot. - Cost and federal share: Chair Gillette described the biennial cost as roughly $20 million for the program (about $10 million per year) when modeled for the state and noted administration costs have a general‑fund component because administrative functions do not always receive full federal match.

Why the subcommittee did not move the executive DP in full: members said the existing Summer Food Service Program has many feeding sites (the department/OPI reported roughly 280 sites last summer) and serves congregate meals; the subcommittee questioned whether adding the EBT card program would be duplicative where feeding sites exist and whether EBT better targets children in areas without sponsors or sites. The subcommittee narrative records that the panel chose not to move the executive’s DP for the card program into the statutory appropriations and instead kept summer nutrition programs visible in HB2 for legislative oversight.

Public comment: multiple witnesses urged restoration of Summer EBT funding. Montana Food Bank Network child nutrition staff said Summer EBT reaches children in areas the traditional summer feeding program does not, citing that the Summer Food Service Program served about one million meals in 2024 but left a gap relative to school‑year feeding levels. "Summer EBT is a research based policy," said Isabella Bucrieri of the Montana Food Bank Network during public comment, adding that USDA data show Summer EBT can reduce food insecurity among children.

Department comment: DPHHS staff told members Summer EBT remains an available federal program administered by USDA Food and Nutrition Service and that Montana operated under an approved FNS plan. The department discussed administrative costs and eligibility thresholds; staff said the program typically targets children certified for free or reduced‑price school meals and uses a 185% of federal poverty level threshold for eligibility in many states.

Ending: The subcommittee left Summer EBT administration details unresolved and asked the department for additional information on usage, overlap with existing summer feeding sites, site coverage in rural counties and precise budgetary impacts. Advocates asked lawmakers to reconsider restoring the DP to ensure children in counties without feeding sponsors have access to summer nutrition.