school lunch
The pandemic increased hunger, but fewer kids are getting school meals
Despite a spike in food insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic, school meals have “lost important ground” over the last two years, according to a new report from the Food Research & Action Center. The number of students regularly eating school lunches was 30.7 percent lower in the 2020-21 school year than in 2018-19, before the pandemic hit, according to the report. <strong> No paywall </strong>
‘Now is the time’ to make school meals free for all kids, anti-hunger advocates say
All American public school children are currently able to get school meals for free, thanks to temporary waivers that allowed schools to serve free meals during the pandemic. And while those waivers are set to expire at the end of June, the pandemic has served as a trial run for making school meals permanently free for all students, regardless of income.
School food directors propose free meals for all students
Congress should revise child nutrition programs so that all students are eligible for free meals at school, said the School Nutrition Association in a position paper released on Tuesday. The group, which speaks on behalf of school food directors, also called for higher reimbursement rates for each lunch and breakfast served.
USDA puts additional $750 million into school meals
An adjustment in reimbursement rates for school meals will put an additional $750 million into child nutrition programs that were expected to cost $27 billion this year, said the Agriculture Department. The adjustment came three weeks after the USDA said up to 100,000 schools would get a share of $1.5 billion dedicated to easing the impact of supply chain disruptions and the pandemic on school meals.
School Nutrition Association says go slow on nutrition overhaul
Next fall, the Biden administration will propose new nutrition standards for school meals, the the first attempt to strengthen the rules since 2012. Health advocates are already starting to make their wish lists known—further lowering sodium, making meals more nutritious and, for the first time ever, capping the amount of added sugar in food served to students. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
USDA allots $1.5 billion to counter supply chain turmoil in school meals
Up to 100,000 schools will get a share of $1.5 billion intended to ease the impact of supply chain disruptions and the pandemic on school lunch and other school meals, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
‘Build back’ bill has nearly $90 billion for ag and rural America
The USDA would receive nearly $90 billion through the "build back better" bill to mitigate climate change, reduce the risk of wildfires, provide debt relief for economically distressed farmers, and encourage rural economic growth, said the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday.
Price tag for new nutrition and ag spending nears $100 billion
During congressional committee work on the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion "build back better" bill, majority-party House Democrats approved a $35 billion expansion of child nutrition programs last week and were expected to vote on Monday for an additional $66 billion for forestry, rural economic development and agricultural research.
Biden proposes 16 percent increase in child nutrition outlays
USDA spending nearly doubles during pandemic
‘Put kids first,’ say advocates in call for universal free school meals
On the heels of new legislation that would provide free school meals to all American children, advocates from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), American Academy of Pediatrics and American Federation of Teachers doubled down on the urgent need for action amid persistent childhood hunger and an escalating obesity crisis.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Free meals proposed for all students
Congress should permanantly expand the school food program so that all public school students can eat breakfast and lunch for free, said the School Nutrition Association on Tuesday. The association said many school food directors expect to run a deficit this school year because of school closures and the higher cost of preparing and serving meals during the pandemic.
A ‘hungry winter’ ahead, as food insecurity remains severe
Child hunger has dipped since the summer but still remains near record levels, according to a new analysis from The Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project. With Thanksgiving around the corner, the findings point to enduring hardship and food insecurity, eight months after the first pandemic-related shutdowns began. <strong> (No paywall) </strong>
School meal programs have lost more than $483 million so far during the pandemic
School meal programs have taken a massive financial hit during the coronavirus crisis, according to a new survey from the School Nutrition Association. The survey, which includes responses from school nutrition directors in 1,614 school districts across the country, points to the crippling costs of adapting to pandemic-related constraints, and significant losses due to a drop in participation in the school-lunch program.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Replacing school meals, P-EBT program lifted millions of children out of hunger
The Pandemic EBT program, created by Congress to help low-income families buy food for their children during school closures, "is hitting its target," said researchers at the Brookings Institution. "We find that Pandemic EBT reduces food hardship faced by children by 30 percent in the week following its disbursement."
School lunch count plummeted as schools closed in pandemic
Participation in the school lunch program nosedived 28 percent during the first months of the pandemic despite breakneck efforts across the nation to provide an alternative to meals in the cafeteria, said USDA data. An anti-hunger group said extension of the so-called P-EBT program and an increase in SNAP benefits were needed to treat "this child hunger crisis."
Schools are feeding millions of children. Now they face huge losses.
Public schools served tens of millions of emergency meals in April, mostly often in drive-through lanes, to low-income children after coronavirus closures ended cafeteria service, said a survey released on Monday. Nonetheless, roughly half of the 1,894 districts taking part in the School Nutrition Association survey reported a drop-off of at least 50 percent in meals served. (No paywall)
Project aims to feed low-income children in Ohio during school closures
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the second public-private initiative to provide replacement meals for low-income children who lost access to free or reduced-price meals due to school closures. The new project would feed children "vulnerable to hunger" in Ohio and follows the creation of an effort in Texas to offer shelf-stable meals to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Fewer students in the school lunch line
Over the decade ending in fiscal 2019, before the pandemic, student participation in the school lunch program fell by 7 percent, to an average of 29.6 million meals a day, said a USDA report on the program. In enrollment and cost, school lunch is the nation's second-largest public nutrition program, behind SNAP, and operates in around 100,000 schools.