Officials with the Braun administration pointed to Gov. Eric Holcomb as the reason Indiana opted out of a student summer meals program. Photo from Getty Images.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s second-in-command, along with a key executive branch agency, pointed to a lack of planning under Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration as the reason hungry Hoosier schoolchildren won’t be able to use a summer meals program.

“The previous administration did not file for SUN Bucks in the way they should have,” Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith told a crowd at a Zionsville town hall on Tuesday. “I’m working with Gov. Braun to get those SUN Bucks dollars back.”

That “lapse,” along with other perceived failures of Holcomb, were part of what propelled the duo into office, Beckwith continued.

Last year, 669,000 Hoosier children who qualified for food benefits and reduced-price school meals got an additional $120 while schools were closed for the summer, for a total of roughly $80 million. But Indiana opted out of the program this year, saying that Holcomb’s administration hadn’t done the legwork in advance of 2025.

Oversight costs for the program would be roughly $3.7 million for the state, according to the administration, a tough sell following the state’s projected $2 billion revenue shortfall earlier this year. In response, budget writers trimmed nearly every agency by 5% and sharply cut into economic development and public health programs.

“The successful implementation of the SUN Bucks program required early planning and strategic coordination to launch in this summer. To ensure a timely rollout, the Division of Family Resources needed clear direction from state leadership during late summer to early fall of 2024, during the prior administration,” Marcus Barlow told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Barlow is the deputy chief of staff and director of the office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs for the Family and Social Services Administration, which administers the program alongside the Department of Education.

He said “due to the complexity of procurement processes and system enhancements,” the Holcomb administration should have done the following before this year, which is when Braun took office:

• Finalize contract amendments with the Electronic Benefit Transfer processor to allocate funding for Summer EBT.
• Secure a system vendor to support technical enhancements and application processing for this year.

Summer EBT, or S-EBT, is the official name for the SUN Bucks program. The Food and Nutrition Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, handles the program at the federal level.

More Details

It’s unclear what changed between the program’s administration in 2024 and this year that necessitated such changes. In response to a follow-up question, Barlow noted that “since that prior administration didn’t move forward, no decisions were made regarding whether or not to use the same vendor.”

“Upon taking office, this administration quickly submitted a waiver application to the Food and Nutrition Service to explore all possible avenues for launching the program this summer. However, our review revealed that the gaps in prior preparations prevented implementation in time for this summer,” Barlow said.

That waiver application, dated for March of this year, appeared to indicate that the state was moving forward with the program and would be submitting a Plan for Operations and Management for approval under Braun’s administration.

However, Barlow didn’t respond to further questions about that plan and whether it was submitted or approved, saying the Indiana Capital Chronicle would need to submit a records request for the document.

The federal government also declined to share a copy of Indiana’s plan or comment on whether it was submitted or approved.

“USDA Secretary (Brooke) Rollins believes in empowering states to tailor programs and policies to their specific circumstances, rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all approach. She recognizes that states are best equipped to understand their own populations and encourages them to explore innovative ideas to address their unique needs. Under Secretary Rollins, USDA is committed to engaging with Indiana to find bold and sustainable solutions that support and protect both participants and taxpayers,” a USDA spokesperson said.

What To Do This Summer

Barlow pointed to existing resources under the USDA’s Site Finder Map and the Hunger Hotline for families to connect to food resources. The hotline is accessible Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern Time at 1 (866) 3-HUNGRY, or 1 (866) 348-6479 for English speakers or at 1-877-8-HAMBRE, or 1 (877) 842-6273 for Spanish speakers.

At the Tuesday town hall, the devout Beckwith continued on the topic of summer meals by saying that the state should “take advantage” of the federal money being offered.

“We should go after that federal money,” Beckwith said to cheers. “It’s just going to go to a different state.”

Additionally, the Noblesville pastor asked the faith community to step up in place of the state to “be the hands and feet of Christ in these communities” this summer.

“I don’t think the state is equipped to do it as well as nonprofits,” Beckwith concluded. “… It’s a nonprofit’s (and) faith community’s job to do it. They can do it better than the state (and) far more efficiently.”