Two weeks ago, something big happened in Washington. The Senate Committee on Agriculture passed a bill that will improve the national summer meals program so that it reaches a lot more kids – something that hasn’t happened since 1975.
That may sound a little dry – Senate committees and bills and meals programs. But I can tell you from personal experience exactly what it means for kids. I live in Arkansas, and there are 200,000 children here whose families struggle with hunger. I see these children every day in my work with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance; bright, beautiful and with their whole lives ahead of them. But I also see how those lives can be diminished because their parents can’t afford regular, healthy food.
The problem is worse in the summer months. Many kids from low-income families rely on school for lunch and breakfast, and when school is closed for the summer, those meals disappear.
That’s why I’m so proud that Republican and Democratic Senators came together to change kids’ lives for the better. I’m especially proud of John Boozman, our Senator from Arkansas. He’s seen many of the same things I have, and he understands what this bill means for children – in our state and across the country.
The next step is for this bill to go to the full Senate. Under Sen. Boozman’s leadership, I’m confident that it will happen, and happen soon. Hungry kids can’t wait.
