Hungry Kids Need Healthy Food Year-Round

We are seeing a child hunger crisis here in Washington. Currently, 1 in 3 Washington households with children are struggling to put food on the table.

When kids have consistent access to nutritious food they do better both physically and academically. Studies show that the investment in increasing access to school breakfasts and lunches pays off as kids have better test scores, fewer sick days, and increased ability to focus on learning and difficult tasks.

The American Families Plan and two recently introduced bills propose resources to provide universal meals to kids year round, ensuring that every child, regardless of income, has the nutritious food they need to thrive and that food is available where they learn, where they live, and where they play:

• The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021 (S. 1530/H.R. 3115) would provide free school meals to all students, increase meal reimbursement rates to better cover the costs for schools to source and prepare nutritious ingredients, provide free summer and after school meals and snacks to all children, and provide an added reimbursement to schools to incentivize the procurement of locally grown foods for meals.
• The Stop Child Hunger Act (S. 1831/H.R. 3519) would provide a year-round grocery benefit for each child who is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals so that their families can afford the increased food needed to replace meals missed whenever schools are closed for 5 or more days. This means that children could continue to count on nutritious meals during summer and other seasonal breaks.

Our collective effort now to ensure that our kids have the consistent nutritious meals they need now to grow and focus on learning will mean healthier communities tomorrow. Join us in taking action today to support the expansion and access to child nutrition programs.

What You Can Do