Fried urges Floridians: Demand Gov. DeSantis seek all federal aid to help struggling families

Gov. Ron DeSantis is letting billions in federal COVID-19 relief go unspent as the pandemic continues and working families struggle to pay bills, Florida’s top Democratic officeholder and other critics said Friday.

During a Zoom conference call with people who help administer food and other assistance to the working poor, Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried complained that the DeSantis administration has declined to administer $870 million in rental assistance and $821 million in food aid for kids, among other programs.

“To know that there is all this money sitting out there to help our families when our neighbors are in need is so frustrating,” said Fried, an elected Cabinet member who also is a candidate for her party’s nomination to challenge DeSantis for reelection next year.

The federal Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program would supply $375 per week to feed 2.1 million children in Florida but DeSantis allowed it to lapse on the theory that kids are back in school now; see this report by Florida Politics.

“This extra money helps the family, making sure these kids are fed dinners; making sure that there is food on the weekend,” Fried said.

“This is additional resources for our families and is not because there is no food in the schools. This is a recognition that our families are hurting right now,” she said.

Additionally, the money could provide nourishment for kids under COVID quarantine who can’t go to school, Fried said.

Fried called upon Floridians to organize around food banks and other relief services — and to get political.

“Call the governor’s office. Write letters. Organize. Because he needs to hear from everybody in our state” about how important these federal programs are to working people.

Penny Parham, who runs food programs for the Miami-Dade school system, said the federal assistance is necessary because hungry kids don’t learn. In fact, she added, the money was designed to boost food security for entire families.

Julie Kreafle, who runs hunger relief programs for the United Way of Palm Beach County, warned that shortages may worsen as Florida enters the fall and winter, when the state’s population tends to increase. They’re not all rich, she pointed out.

Research indicates that a single, unexpected $400 expense can land a family on the street, Kreafle said. In that context, the $375 in federal food assistance “would just be a tremendous help and support to people as we move through the next phase of our world and the pandemic in Florida,” she said.