Millions of Texas Kids Lose Out as Gov. Abbott Vetoes Summer EBT Program

Governor Greg Abbott’s recent veto of funding for the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program has sparked widespread concern across Texas. The $60 million appropriation, approved by state lawmakers, would have allowed Texas to tap into a federal initiative providing summer grocery money to low-income families with children (Langford, 2025). By rejecting these funds, Abbott effectively opted Texas out of a program that could have given roughly 3.7 million eligible Texas children an extra $120 each for groceries during the summer months when school meals aren’t available (Langford, 2025; Montoya Coggins, 2025). Texas now remains one of the few states declining to participate in this federal summer food aid, forgoing an estimated $400–$450 million in U.S. funding that would have accompanied the state’s investment (Goldenstein, 2025; Montoya Coggins, 2025).

What Is the Summer EBT Program?

Summer EBT is a federally funded program designed to help families cover the cost of meals for children during summer vacation, when schools are closed and free or reduced-price school lunches pause. Under the program, families with school-aged kids who qualify for free or reduced meals receive about $120 per child loaded onto an electronic benefit card to spend on groceries over the summer (Drusch, 2025). Congress authorized the Summer EBT program to operate in states that choose to participate, and most states have signed on. In fact, as of this year 37 states are participating so that millions of children can get adequate nutrition over the summer break (Langford, 2025; Sequeira, 2024). Texas, however, was one of only about a dozen states that initially declined to implement Summer EBT in 2024 (Montoya Coggins, 2025; Sequeira, 2024). State officials at the time cited challenges like administrative costs and timing, as Texas missed federal application deadlines to launch the program (Sequeira, 2024).

A Bipartisan Plan Meets a Veto

During the 2025 legislative session, Texas lawmakers from both parties found rare common ground on addressing child hunger. They quietly inserted a provision into the new state budget to finally roll out the Summer EBT program in Texas (Drusch, 2025). The plan set aside $60 million in state funds to cover Texas’s share of administrative costs, which would unlock roughly $400 million in federal funds starting by summer 2027 (Drusch, 2025). Legislators estimated that this investment would provide food benefits to millions of Texas kids statewide, including about $28 million in aid for families in Bexar County (San Antonio area) alone in the first summer (Drusch, 2025). The broad support in the legislature and inclusion in the budget suggested the program’s future in Texas was all but secured.

However, when the budget reached Gov. Abbott’s desk in June, he used his line-item veto power to strike out the Summer EBT funding. Notably, this was the only line item Abbott chose to veto in the entire $338 billion state budget (Langford, 2025). In his brief veto message, Abbott cited uncertainties in federal support as his reason for nixing the program (Langford, 2025) – a justification that would soon become a point of contention.

Abbott’s Rationale: Citing Federal ‘Uncertainty’

Abbott’s official reasoning centers on concerns that Washington might not uphold its end of the bargain. He pointed out that Congress has been eyeing cuts to nutrition programs and claimed there was too much uncertainty at the federal level to start a new commitment (Langford, 2025). Summer EBT itself was created during the Biden administration, and discussions of federal budget tightening – including proposals to slash the broader Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – fueled Abbott’s wariness (Drusch, 2025). In his view, launching a program that could later lose federal support might saddle Texas with unexpected costs down the road.

It’s worth noting that lawmakers had anticipated this concern and built a safeguard into the budget provision: if the federal funding formula or matching rate changed, the state’s $60 million allocation would have been automatically canceled (Langford, 2025). Additionally, anti-hunger experts point out that Summer EBT is a distinct program from SNAP with its own funding, and at the time of the veto there had been no specific indication that Congress planned to cut the summer benefit (Montoya Coggins, 2025). Nevertheless, Abbott chose to err on the side of caution, declining the program for now. His stance effectively keeps Texas aligned with a handful of other conservative-led states that have opposed expanding food assistance programs, often citing a philosophical resistance to “welfare” or concerns about administrative expenses (Sequeira, 2024).

Backlash from Anti-Hunger Advocates and Lawmakers

The veto immediately drew outrage from Texas Democrats and hunger relief advocates, who argue that Abbott put politics over children’s well-being. State Rep. Armando Walle (D-Houston), who championed the Summer EBT funding in the legislature, called the decision “baffling” and lamented the lost opportunity to help millions of kids (Langford, 2025). The Texas House Democratic Caucus blasted Abbott’s move as a “stunning display of misplaced priorities,” noting that the one item he eliminated from the budget was a program to feed hungry children during the summer (Langford, 2025). Other lawmakers said Abbott’s justification of fiscal uncertainty was disingenuous – pointing out that Texas has historically been reluctant to fund services for its most vulnerable residents even when federal money is on the table (Drusch, 2025). “It’s about demonstrating strength, power and control through cruelty,” commented State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) in reaction to the veto (Drusch, 2025).

Food security organizations also voiced disappointment. Celia Cole, CEO of the nonprofit Feeding Texas, said the Summer EBT would have provided “critical nutrition support” to children during the gap months when school meals aren’t available and food insecurity peaks (Langford, 2025). No Kid Hungry Texas director Stacie Sanchez Hare joined legislators like Walle and Rep. Toni Rose (D-Dallas) in a joint statement condemning the veto as a failure to enact a proven, cost-effective solution for child hunger (Montoya Coggins, 2025). That statement warned that by rejecting Summer EBT, the state was forcing struggling families to continue making “impossible decisions” between buying food and paying for other essentials like rent or medicine (Montoya Coggins, 2025).

Impact and What Lies Ahead

For now, Texas will continue to rely on more limited existing programs to reach kids who need summer meals. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s Summer Meal Programs, which fund free meals and snacks at schools and community sites, served about 12 million meals statewide in summer 2024 (Langford, 2025). But those in-person programs only reach a fraction of the children who experience hunger when school is out. By turning down Summer EBT, Texas is leaving roughly half a billion dollars in federal aid on the table and denying nearly 4 million children resources that most other states are providing to fight summer hunger (Goldenstein, 2025; Langford, 2025).

Governor Abbott has suggested that the idea could be revisited later if federal funding becomes more certain (Langford, 2025). In the meantime, however, advocates fear that a major chance to reduce child hunger has been lost. Texas remains an outlier on this issue, even as child food insecurity rates in the state are among the highest in the nation – over one in five Texas children live in households that struggle to afford food (Montoya Coggins, 2025).

The debate over the Summer EBT veto has highlighted a fundamental divide in how state leaders view safety net programs. To many Texans, cutting off a program aimed at feeding children during summer break undermines the state’s “family values” narrative. For others, Abbott’s hard line reflects a belief in limiting government assistance and a gamble that Texas should not depend on a federal program that might change.

References

Drusch, A. (2025, June 23). Texas nixes summer meal program expected to provide $28M to Bexar County families. San Antonio Report. https://sanantonioreport.org/texas-gov-greg-abbott-nixes-summer-meal-program/

Goldenstein, T. (2025, June 23). Abbott vetoes summer food aid program for children, forgoing $450M in federal funds. Houston Chronicle. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/abbott-veto-summer-EBT-food-aid-18165277.php

Langford, T. (2025, June 23). Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes funding for federal summer lunch program. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/23/texas-summer-lunch-ebt-greg-abbott-veto/

Montoya Coggins, J. (2025, June 23). Abbott vetoes funding for summer food program. Texas Signal. https://texassignal.com/abbott-vetoes-funding-for-summer-food-program/

Sequeira, R. (2024, June 27). 13 states with Republican governors opt out of summer food program for kids. Stateline – Pew Charitable Trusts. https://stateline.org/2024/06/27/13-states-with-republican-governors-opt-out-of-summer-food-program-for-kids/