Press Conference: Advocates Call for Tennessee to Commit to Summer EBT
Thu, Dec 18
|Tennessee State Capitol
Time & Location
Dec 18, 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Tennessee State Capitol, 600 Dr. M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Nashville, TN 37243, USA
About the event
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Location: North end of Bicentennial Mall, just off of Jefferson Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, North and between the Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee Library and Archives
National and regional anti-hunger organizations will hold a press conference at the Tennessee State Capitol urging Governor Bill Lee to authorize the state’s participation in the federal Summer EBT program for 2026. More than 700,000 Tennessee children received food assistance through Summer EBT in 2024. In 2025, state funds were used and only 18,000 children in 15 rural counties were reached. Speakers will outline the economic and nutritional benefits of rejoining the federal program, including how $84 million in federal dollars could return to Tennessee families and local grocery stores, and the importance of acting before the January 1 deadline.