Fried Presses DeSantis Over P-EBT Money

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) directed criticism at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) over the weekend by sending a letter to his office regarding child food funding. The Governor’s Administration applied for $820 million in outstanding federal child food aid. However, Commissioner Fried is pressing DeSantis, asking where the P-EBT money has been utilized while also asking DeSantis to provide further funding for the Sunshine State.

In regards to the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program, which is a federal supplemental nutrition program that aims to prevent child hunger during the ongoing pandemic, Commissioner Fried shared with DeSantis that she was “deeply concerned about the continued negative impact that your Administration’s delays in applying for and disbursing P-EBT benefits for SY20-21 and Summer 2021 are having on Florida children and families who are counting on this federal assistance.”

“It is of the upmost importance that your Administration communicate all P-EBT information clearly with the public, and not create any additional delays that will cause further harm for millions of Florida families by waiting any longer to submit the state’s application to the USDA for SY21-22,” she added.

The program was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April, and the state was approved for more than $1 billion.

Last month, Fried pressed DeSantis to apply, and the state was the last state to do so.

In commenting on the subject, Fried commented that she didn’t “know if it was politically motivated, I don’t know if DCF dropped the ball, and then when we called them out on it, they had to come up with some excuse.”

“But regardless, at the end of the day, the money is coming down to our families across the state,” she said.

A spokesperson for Governor DeSantis argued that Floridians did not need the program because children were already going back to school.