Gov. Bill Lee declines to secure millions in federal funds to feed Tennessee kids during summer

The federal government said Monday that Tennessee has not opted into a summer food program for low income kids that brought more than $84 million in funding to avert childhood hunger in previous years. (Photo: Getty Images)

Despite the urging of county mayors, child advocates, clergy and educators, Gov. Bill Lee has declined to secure millions of dollars in federal funding to provide food to low-income kids by the government’s Jan. 1 deadline.

Lee has remained quiet about the apparent decision to forgo approximately $84 million from the federal government’s Summer EBT program, also known as SUN Bucks. In the past, the federal funding has helped feed 700,000 Tennessee kids during summer months when school is out. The governor’s office, for weeks, has not responded to reporters’ questions about whether he planned to participate in the federal Summer EBT.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that “Tennessee has not submitted their intent to participate in Summer EBT for 2026.” 

Gov. Bill Lee stays mum as a deadline looms to opt into a summer food program for kids

Lee rejected the funding last year, too, aligning with more than a dozen Republican governors who cited reasons ranging from opposition to “attempts to expand the welfare state” to administrative costs. In 2025 Tennessee spent $5 million to administer the federal program. 

In its place, the governor established a Summer Nutrition Initiative operating in 15 counties, providing 18,000 kids the same per-child funding as the federal program: $120 for each child. In total, the state spent $3 million on the program.

Hundreds of thousands of children in Tennessee’s other 80 counties, including the state’s urban centers in Shelby and Davidson, weren’t eligible.

It remains unknown whether Lee intends to reintroduce the state-funded Summer Nutrition Initiative again this year. Lee’s office did not respond to questions Monday.

Tennessee launches its summer food benefits this week. Most students in the state will miss out.

In the weeks leading up to the January 1 deadline set by the federal government for states opting into the Summer EBT program, Tennessee lawmakers, faith leaders and county mayors have publicly urged Lee to take advantage of federal dollars, noting high levels of food insecurity among children in Tennessee. 

The funding, made available in the form of debit cards to use while food shopping, impacts more than just hungry children, they noted. 

Before Lee rejected the funding, the Food Research & Action Center estimated the federal funding flowing into Tennessee had a $115 million positive economic impact on the state, a result of virtually all funding spent on buying food in Tennessee grocery stores, farmers markets and convenience stores.