Legislation would expand national summer meal program

Bipartisan legislation introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would expand summer meal programs nationwide for 22 million children who rely on the National School Lunch Program for free and reduced-price meals.

S. 1170, the Summer Meals Act, would help close the gap for 18 million children who risk hunger when school is out.

Currently, fewer than 4 million students receive meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program.

“Learning disruptions caused by the pandemic have deepened the hunger crisis for vulnerable children who rely on school meals to keep from going hungry,” Gillibrand said. “When schools are out for the summer, we must guarantee that food insecure students maintain access to nutritious food.”

For many children, said Murkowski, meals served at school and in after-school or summer programs are sometimes the only meals they can rely on.

“Put simply,” Murkowski said, “our bill will reduce barriers that prevent hungry kids from being fed.”

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The Summer Meals Act would help more children access healthy food by lowering the threshold to allow areas with 40% or more students receiving free or reduced lunches to be eligible for the program, rather than the current 50% threshold.

Another benefit of the legislation includes options of serving two meals and a snack, or three meals, to children who attend evening enrichment programs during the school year and summer months.

The bill would also allow summer nutrition program providers to serve food to children after emergencies or disasters and be reimbursed if the meals are taken off site.

The full text of the bill is online at cdv.tiny.us/meal.

The Food Bank of Alaska, and Alaska Afterschool Network are among some 500 national, state and local endorsers of the legislation.

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