“Every kid deserves three meals a day, and everyone working to feed kids should be supported, especially in this challenging environment,” says Davis.
Contact: Christy Felling, cfelling@strength.org
WASHINGTON, DC — This week, Congress passed the Keep Kids Fed Act, legislation that will equip schools and community organizations with more of the tools and financial resources they need to continue feeding children through the 2022-2023 school year. The following is a statement from Share Our Strength Senior Vice President Lisa Davis:
“The passage of the Keep Kids Fed Act will provide some desperately needed relief for schools, children and families as food, gas and housing prices continue to soar. We appreciate Congress for working in a bipartisan manner and getting this over the finish line before these essential nationwide child nutrition waivers and flexibilities expire next week. As a result, millions of kids can now get more of the food they need.
“Although these waivers were set to expire, the problems they were intended to address continue and, in many cases, have gotten worse. Schools and community meal providers continue to face extreme challenges in feeding kids, including staff shortages, rapidly rising food costs, skyrocketing gas prices and severe supply chain disruptions. The flexibilities included in the legislation are essential for them to run their meal programs in these challenging times.
“For example, this legislation helps schools avoid financial penalties if they have to make substitutions between green vegetables and orange ones when the delivery truck shows up empty. They provide additional financial resources to meet higher prices for food, staff, and gas tanks. And they make sure summer meal programs can better reach the kids who need them, particularly in rural areas.
“Families are still hurting. They are making impossible choices between paying rent, filling the gas tank, or buying food for their kids. School and summer meals are a lifeline.
“To be clear, this bill is a compromise and does not include everything that we wanted. It won’t solve supply chain issues, lower the rising cost of food or solve our nation’s inflation problem. And it won’t help families whose incomes are too high to qualify for free meals but too low to cover basic necessities. But it is a huge step forward, and it will equip schools and community organizations with more of the tools they need to better navigate these issues
“And, ultimately, this legislation will keep more kids fed and nourished. Every kid deserves three meals a day, and everyone working to feed kids should be supported, especially in this challenging environment.”
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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 6 kids 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.