“We commend the House for taking bipartisan action to address the ballooning hunger crisis our nation is facing,” says Davis.
Contact: Meredith Jorss, mjorss@strength.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8319, a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded through December 11, 2020. This legislation includes two provisions critical to helping struggling families with children. First, it extends and expands Pandemic EBT, which provides a supplemental grocery benefit to families whose children are missing meals due to pandemic-related school disruptions, including remote learning. Second, it officially gives the USDA the authority and funding to extend the waivers that are essential to schools’ continued ability to adapt their meal programs to ensure children are fed through the end of the 2021 school year. The following is a statement from Share Our Strength Senior Vice President Lisa Davis:
"We are pleased to see this bipartisan support to address the ballooning hunger crisis our nation is facing because of COVID-19. Including both Pandemic EBT and child nutrition waivers in this bill is a huge victory for hungry kids, their families and the schools and community organizations working tirelessly to feed them. Pandemic EBT will help ensure no child misses a meal despite disruptions to their traditional school schedule. And, by granting USDA the authority to extend waivers through September 30, 2021 and including language that there is funding to do so, this legislation removes the last roadblock to USDA extending these waivers through the end of the 2021 school year.
Even amidst a health and economic crisis, childhood hunger is solvable. This legislation was a critical step to get our nation back on a path to end hunger. But with so many families struggling, the job is not done. We look to Congress and the Administration to increase SNAP benefits by 15% in the next relief package.”
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 4 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.