Democrats in the Florida House of Representatives sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday urging him to apply for a federal program that would provide food assistance to children from poor families next summer.

According to the States Newsroom’s DC Bureau, the Sunshine State was one of 13 states that forwent millions of dollars in federal funds for the EBT summer program, which provided low-income families with $120 for school-age children this year.

Pressure is mounting on Florida from parents, anti-hunger advocacy groups, child rights organizations and now Democrats to notify the federal government that it wants to participate in the program next year as the Aug. 15 deadline approaches.

“Florida has a chance to correct DeSantis’ glaring mistake in 2024 when he decided to politicize food insecurity,” House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell wrote in a press release Tuesday.

“Florida residents have had to endure one political ploy after another while trying to deal with their financial crisis. Families in need cannot endure political ploys and do not deserve to suffer the consequences imposed on them by the governor’s limited notion of freedom. In a state that supposedly prioritizes parental rights, Governor DeSantis must give Floridians the freedom to access the federal benefits that were funded with their tax dollars.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that more than two million children in Florida would receive approximately $258.9 million in federal assistance through the program. Florida would only have to cover half of the administrative costs of distributing the benefits, which amount to $13 million.

–Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix