Wyoming governor directs state funding for summer meal assistance

Gov. Mark Gordon signed an executive order Wednesday directing the state to implement a federal summer meal assistance program for Wyoming children, moving unilaterally after the legislature rejected the initiative three times in as many years.

The order, Executive Order 2026-02, directs the Department of Family Services to begin the SUN Bucks program in June, providing $120 per eligible child to purchase groceries during the three-month summer break when school meals are unavailable.

“While the Legislature was unwilling to make sure our young children get food throughout the summer months,” Gordon said in announcing the move, “we have stepped up to ensure it happens.”

One in six Wyoming residents experience food insecurity, according to food security advocates, with approximately 35,000 school-aged children facing hunger during summer months. The governor’s action reflects a divergence between the executive and legislative branches on state-level child nutrition policy.

The program and its scope

The federal SUN Bucks program, launched by the Biden administration in 2024, automatically enrolls school-aged children from families receiving SNAP and other income-based benefits. Wyoming did not participate in 2024, and the legislature declined to participate in 2025.

When Gov. Gordon requested $1.8 million in state funding to administer the program in his November budget proposal, the legislature did not advance the request. Gordon reiterated the proposal in his February State of the State address, asking lawmakers: “What kind of people are we if we won’t feed our kids?” The question did not shift the legislature’s position. In March, lawmakers again declined to fund the program.

The executive order directs state officials to develop a plan consistent with federal guidelines that will reach all 23 of Wyoming’s counties. Participants will be able to purchase food according to SNAP eligibility rules. Gordon said the effort would be a “one-time-only, bare bones effort, using current Wyoming Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data and Department of Education data, to ensure current eligible children will be fed.”

Opposition and support

The program has drawn criticism from Wyoming officials who view it as a federal welfare program. Megan Degenfelder, Wyoming’s superintendent of public instruction, said in 2024 that she preferred to improve the state’s existing summer meal programs rather than participate in SUN Bucks.

“I will not let the Biden administration weaponize summer school lunch programs to justify a new welfare program,” Degenfelder told WyoFile in early 2024. “Thanks, but no thanks. We will continue to combat childhood hunger the Wyoming way.”

Wyoming Freedom Caucus lawmakers also opposed the program.

Supporters argue the program fills a critical gap. The American Friends Service Committee, which advocates for nationwide SUN Bucks participation, noted that Wyoming’s existing Summer Food Service Program — which provides meals at centralized sites in eligible communities — cannot reach all children due to distance, working parents’ schedules, and other logistical barriers.

“The reach of such programs is limited, and the program does not allow for choice in the same way as the SUN Bucks program, which is intended to supplement — not replace — the summer feeding program,” the organization said.

Wyoming participates in the federally assisted National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program, which operates 88 meal sites in 32 communities across 18 of the state’s 23 counties, according to the Wyoming Department of Education.

Legislative disagreement and the governor’s path forward

Rep. Scott Smith, R-Lingle, articulated common opposition during budget debate, questioning the proper role of government in providing assistance and warning about the consequences of expanding entitlements.

“I think there’s an element where communities have already taken this up,” Smith said, referring to school programs and food banks. “There’s an element of pride that comes when a parent can go to work, take care of their child, feed their child. When they get a handout, we take that away from them.”

First Lady Jennie Gordon, who has made food security a priority through the Wyoming Hunger Initiative, championed the executive order.

“Expanding access to nutritious food for families in our rural communities makes our entire state stronger,” she said in a statement.

The SUN Bucks program operates in 38 states. The federal program requires participating states to pay 50 percent of administrative costs. Evaluations of a multi-year demonstration project cited by the USDA found that summer electronic benefit transfers reduce child hunger and improve diet quality, decreasing the number of children with very low food security by about one-third.