Spring into Action on Child Hunger

Congress is adjourned for the next two weeks for spring recess, and members are back at home in districts, visiting with and hearing from constituents. Now is a critical time to join us in urging Congress to move the needle on child hunger when they get back to business, debating and voting on supplemental spending packages, budget reconciliation, and maybe even reviewing and reauthorizing our network of child nutrition programs (school meals, summer meals, WIC, and after school care programs.)

Even as we potentially enter an endemic stage of the COVID pandemic, far too many families with children continue to face hunger: the RAPID Survey Project found that in February 2022, nearly 1 in 4 families with children (23%) did not have enough food to eat and could not afford to buy more.

Nationwide waivers currently allow all schools to provide free breakfasts and lunches to all students, thereby ensuring that when families cannot afford enough food for meals at home, at least their children can count on two nutritious meals each day during the school week. But those waivers and others that help schools, community-based organizations, and childcare providers have the administrative flexibilities and funding they need to feed our kids will expire on June 30 unless Congress takes action to extend USDA’s child nutrition waiver-making authority. There are bills in the House and the Senate that would do just that, but Congress- especially the Senate-needs to hear from us that we want them to pass this authority when they return to DC at the end of the month.

We also want Congress to hear that they can take bold, once in a lifetime actions and investments to disrupt child hunger and poverty for good by expanding the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Summer EBT to ensure that students have nutritious meals year-round without barriers or stigma. When our kids have the basic nutrition they need to focus on learning, we see significant improvements in academic performance and physical as well as behavioral health outcomes-improvements that last a lifetime and result in better economic well-being overall.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to weigh in with lawmakers while they are back in district: tell them that it’s time to spring into action on child hunger!

What You Can Do