(The Center Square) – When a state has no approved budget, a governor looks to do what he has to do, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein told state leaders Tuesday.
There is a federal program, SUN Bucks, which provides $120 per child for groceries in the summer when school is out.
“For every million dollars the state can come up, the feds will do $25 million,” Stein said Tuesday at a meeting of the Council of State.
That meant that $5 million in state dollars would generate $125 million in federal funding, the governor said.
But there was a problem.
“We don’t have a budget as we all know,” Stein said. “But we went to a number of our philanthropic and charitable partners and they contributed the money for us to leverage these funds, which will benefit a million kids this summer, to help ensure that they have nutrition.”
The state’s two-year budget was due to be enacted July 1; operations are continuing through funding levels of the last budget, or by a series of mini-budgets passed by the General Assembly. Tuesday marked Day 218 without a spending plan.
For nutrition, the summer can be the worst time of year for children from low-income households because they are not getting breakfast and lunch at school, Stein said.
“This program tries to address that need,” he said. “I want to thank our charitable partners for stepping up since our state doesn’t yet have a budget.”
In North Carolina, students who are enrolled in the free or reduced price meals may automatically qualify for the SunBucks program, according to the state.
Each child can receive $120 in benefits for the summer, with the funds loaded on a type of debit card. The funds can be used to buy food at authorized retailers. Bread, cereal, fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, bottled water and nonalcoholic beverages are eligible for purchase under the program.
