Just over $8 million meant to help families afford groceries went unused when debit cards with the money expired last month, according to state data.
Last August, the state Department of Social Services (DSS) mailed nearly 537,000 debit cards loaded with grocery funds to families across the state. This money was part of a temporary federal program during the COVID-19 pandemic designed to help families buy groceries when their children weren’t in school.
The last round of cards, providing $120 per child, expired in May, nine months after they were issued. Nearly 470,000 cards — 87.5% of those mailed — were activated, totaling $56.2 million.
DSS does not track how much of a card is used once it’s activated, so whether families used up their entire allotment remains unknown. However, with the high cost of groceries, families who activated their cards quickly likely spent the full amount.
Cards remain valid for nine months after their first use. This means the 1,300 people who first used the cards between April and May have until next January or February to use the remaining funds before they return to the federal government.
The reasons why 67,000 families did not use their cards at all are unclear. DSS officials and advocates suggest several possibilities. Some cards may have been lost in the shuffle of other pandemic assistance, said Sue Berkowitz of the Appleseed Legal Justice Center. Others may have been discarded because recipients did not recognize them as legitimate.
The social services and education departments made efforts to inform families through news interviews and social media posts, but some families may have still missed the message. Additionally, some families might have intentionally discarded the aid. The cards were sent to the addresses listed for any student who qualifies for free or reduced-priced meals at school.
Since many schools statewide qualify for a federal program that allows all students to eat for free regardless of their parent’s income, families who normally don’t qualify for public assistance received the grocery debit cards anyway.
The August mailing was the final of seven rounds of federal pandemic grocery aid. In total, the state distributed 2.26 million cards between July 2020 and last August, providing $1.04 billion for groceries. According to DSS data, parents used 90% of those cards at least once.
While a complete database of states’ usage does not exist, South Carolina families seem to have utilized the funds at a higher rate than other states. For example, Missouri had about $37 million in unused grocery aid in February, and Louisiana had $16 million in April, just before their cards expired.
A new, permanent version of the program began in 35 states this summer. However, South Carolina was not among them after Gov. Henry McMaster declined to participate, citing other statewide programs that feed children during the summers. Unlike the pandemic-era aid, which the federal government fully funded, the new program requires states to cover half the administrative cost.
Democratic legislators criticized McMaster for his decision, but legislation requiring him to sign on and asking Congress to extend the Jan. 1 deadline to sign up did not advance.
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