Anti-hunger groups endorse summer meals bills
August 06, 2015 |06:09 PM
More than 1,500 national, state and local groups from around the country organized by the Food Research & Action Center have endorsed two summer meals bills, while Share Our Strength is promoting a third.
All hope Congress will add the bills or some parts of them to a reauthorization of child nutrition programs this fall, and are encouraging their members to tell members of Congress during the August break to support the legislation.
More than 30 million children eat school lunch during the school year and many of them get free or reduced-price lunches.
But as Billy Shore of Share Our Strength noted on the group’s website, only 4 million or about 15 percent of the children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the school year participate in summer feeding programs.
According to FRAC, the Summer Meals Act, introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., would increase low-income children’s access to summer meals by:
FRAC said the Stop Child Hunger Act, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., would give families additional nutritional support over the summer by providing families with children who are certified to receive free or reduced-price school meals a summer EBT [electronic benefit transfer] card that would allow them to purchase food during the summer.
“Together these two bills provide the framework to reduce hunger in the summer and complement one another to greatly enable children and families to have access to the nutritional resources they need during the summer months when they lose access to school meals,” FRAC said.
Share Our Strength has endorsed the bills FRAC is promoting, but pointed out that the Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act, introduced this week by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Joe Donnelly D-Ind., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., would:
“Eliminating hunger and malnourishment must be a national priority,” Boozman said in a news release.
“We need to provide consistency in the summer for Arkansas children who rely on the regular meals provided at school,” Boozman sad.
“Unfortunately, the summer meals program has a one-size-fits-all approach that does not work well for every community. Urban, suburban and rural areas face different challenges, and this legislation provides states with the flexibility to choose the approach that makes the most sense for their communities.
All hope Congress will add the bills or some parts of them to a reauthorization of child nutrition programs this fall, and are encouraging their members to tell members of Congress during the August break to support the legislation.
More than 30 million children eat school lunch during the school year and many of them get free or reduced-price lunches.
But as Billy Shore of Share Our Strength noted on the group’s website, only 4 million or about 15 percent of the children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the school year participate in summer feeding programs.
According to FRAC, the Summer Meals Act, introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., would increase low-income children’s access to summer meals by:
- Allowing sponsors to feed children year-round through the Summer Food Service Program, which would reduce administrative requirements, build and maintain stronger summer feeding programs;
- Increasing low-income children’s access to summer meals by lowering the area eligibility requirement from 50 percent to 40 percent, allowing more communities with significant numbers of low-income children to provide summer meals;
- Providing funding for transportation grants in underserved areas; and
- Allowing all sites to serve a third meal, which is important those that offer all-day programming or programming for teens in the evening.
FRAC said the Stop Child Hunger Act, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., would give families additional nutritional support over the summer by providing families with children who are certified to receive free or reduced-price school meals a summer EBT [electronic benefit transfer] card that would allow them to purchase food during the summer.
“Together these two bills provide the framework to reduce hunger in the summer and complement one another to greatly enable children and families to have access to the nutritional resources they need during the summer months when they lose access to school meals,” FRAC said.
Share Our Strength has endorsed the bills FRAC is promoting, but pointed out that the Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act, introduced this week by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Joe Donnelly D-Ind., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., would:
- Provide meals to as many as 6.5 million more children.
- Make it easier for states to reach low-income children in hard-to-reach places, such as rural communities or areas currently ineligible to host summer sites by providing an option to deliver meals or allow children to leave a site with a meal for later.
- Give states the option to provide low-income families with a grocery store credit of $30 per month through the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system during the summer months to purchase foods.
“Eliminating hunger and malnourishment must be a national priority,” Boozman said in a news release.
“We need to provide consistency in the summer for Arkansas children who rely on the regular meals provided at school,” Boozman sad.
“Unfortunately, the summer meals program has a one-size-fits-all approach that does not work well for every community. Urban, suburban and rural areas face different challenges, and this legislation provides states with the flexibility to choose the approach that makes the most sense for their communities.
