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Tuesday, March 25, 2025

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White House inadvertently texted top-secret Yemen war plans to journalist; MS egg prices stay high amid industry consolidation; NM native, others remembered on National Medal of Honor Day; IN inches closer to lifesaving law change.

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President Trump credits tariffs for a Hyundai Steel investment in Louisiana, but residents say the governor is betraying them over health concerns there; and other states double down on climate change as the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations.

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Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

TN nonprofits plan ahead for end of Summer EBT food program

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Tuesday, March 11, 2025   

Gov. Bill Lee has opted Tennessee out of the federal Summer EBT program and nonprofit groups in the state said they will work to fill the gap for families in need.

Summer EBT provides $40 a month per child for food assistance when kids are out of school.

Ella Clay, executive director of the nonprofit Healing Minds and Souls, said losing $75 million in federal aid is disappointing. Her organization serves 500 meals a week and provides resources to families in the 37208 ZIP code, an area with high food insecurity and significant challenges for residents.

"We have food," Clay pointed out. "We have produce, vegetables, fruits, personal hygiene products, products for your household, and various products even for children. And so, those are the ways that we're here to serve our community."

Nearly 700,000 children benefited from the Summer EBT program last year in Tennessee. Gov. Lee has instead announced a state-funded alternative to provide a one-time, $120 payment to eligible families in underserved counties.

C.J. Sentell, CEO of the Nashville Food Project, said despite the proposed federal budget cuts, his organization vows to keep providing summer meals for kids and continue participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program.

Sentell noted they are working with 50 partners to deliver nearly 7,000 meals weekly from two kitchens.

"We work with those organizations to enhance their programming with food," Sentell explained. "All of our work is done in partnership with other organizations and 65% of our meals are going to children and seniors, so, think after-school programs, senior adult programs."

He added they work with partners and use federal programs to reduce costs, providing food to child care centers like Saint Luke's Community House and have expanded partnerships in the past year to reach more people with food and curb costs.


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