The Biden administration said it would provide an additional $943 million in USDA funds to schools so they can purchase American-grown food for their meal programs. Supply chain disruptions and rising costs “continue to be a challenge for many schools and child nutrition operators, and we are thankful for Congress stepping up to ease some of their burdens,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday.
The $943 million follows the $1 billion that was allocated last December for schools to use in buying domestically grown foods for their meal programs.
A week ago, Congress passed and President Biden signed legislation that increases the per-meal reimbursement rate for schools and gives schools some leeway in meeting nutritional standards for meals. The legislation allows schools to serve meals for free to all students during the summer. When classes resume in the fall, schools will return to the option of providing free, reduced-price, and full-price meals for students, depending on their household’s income.