When the pandemic hit—and hunger and food insecurity spiked—Congress enacted legislation giving the U.S. Department of Agriculture authority to allow schools to serve meals to all students at no charge (also known as universal school meals).
These emergency measures have helped alleviate food insecurity and resource challenges for families and schools, but they are set to expire on June 30, 2022. Unless Congress acts quickly to extend the child nutrition waivers that allow schools to offer meals at no charge, millions of kids will lose access to a critical source of nutrition.
The emergency measures implemented in response to the pandemic provide a long-term roadmap for modernizing and improving school meal programs. Ensuring every child has access to free and healthy school meals—not only during public health emergencies, but every day—will help end child hunger and build a healthier nation for generations to come.
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