The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has doubled down on its refusal to let schools serve free meals to all students this fall—despite rising food insecurity and pleas from anti-hunger advocates, school nutrition officials, and lawmakers...Update: A bunch of Republicans, including Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-MN), signed on to a letter asking the USDA to reconsider. They are however apparently making little, if any, effort to see that more money is forthcoming.
Then in March, as the economy contracted and unemployment soared, USDA issued regulatory waivers permitting all schools to serve free breakfast and lunch to all children, including those not of school-age or enrolled in private institutions. School nutrition officials welcomed the move, which allowed many districts to serve as de facto hunger relief organizations within their communities. USDA said that initial waivers were possible thanks to a boost in funding from the Families First coronavirus relief bill, but that it needed another infusion of cash to extend them.
This means that schools will soon have to begin charging for meals again and tracking meal debt among kids who can’t pay. - The Counter
Update #2: Schools will now be allowed to offer free lunch to everyone, "as funding allows."
Minnesota's Members of Congress sure have different takes on this ... in the First, Jim Hagedorn told a town hall meeting in January that "people just got fend for themselves" in defending Trump's cuts to SNAP ... and in the Fifth, Ilhan Omar has authored a number of bills related to school meals including
ReplyDeleteHR 3366 No Shame at School Act of 2019
HR 4684 Universal School Meals Program Act of 2019
HR 6187 Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act or the MEALS Act
HR 6430 Suspend School Meal Debt Act