(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she has not opted out of a federal program to provide food to needy Iowa child next summer, she’s just waiting to see if the U-S-D-A will let her use the money to set up a new system in Iowa for distributing it.

Iowa was one of 13 states that did not participate in THIS summer’s U-S-D-A program which provided families with an extra 140 dollars in grocery money for each child who qualifies for free or reduced price school lunches. Reynolds has drawn up a plan to distribute the 29 million dollars in benefits by having the state buy the food and box it up.

The governor says the boxed up food would be distributed by the state’s 12-hundred food banks and food pantries as well as the 500 sites around the state — mostly schools — that provided summer meals this summer. Critics say giving Iowa parents electronic benefits cards lets them address the nutrition needs of their family and avoid foods their kids are allergic to. Reynolds says the emphasis in her alternative is on healthy food.

Reynolds made her comments during a news conference yesterday (Thursday), but has not said whether she will opt out of the Summer feeding program next year if the U-S-D-A does not fund her food box alternative. The governor’s Health and Human Services director says she’s had a couple of productive conversations with a top U-S-D-A official about the governor’s waiver request.