Turn Up the Volume Today to Support Child Nutrition in Build Back Better

This week is National School Lunch Week. (Oct. 11-15) and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than calling on Congress to urge their protection of child nutrition priorities in the Build Back Better budget.

The Build Back Better budget would fund critical programs that have been working at providing nutritious meals to children during the pandemic, helping us address the increased food insecurity that families with children are experiencing because of COVID-19 by providing access to nutritious food, year-round for school aged children.

If enacted, Washington State could nearly double the number of students at schools that are eligible for federal funds to provide meals at no cost to a total of more than half a million students. Additionally, under the Build Back Better plan, every one of those students would also be eligible to have grocery assistance to help their families put food on the table while schools are closed during the summer break. This assistance, known as Summer EBT, has been shown to decrease food insecurity by 30% in evaluations of the pilot program. Families are better able to afford putting food on the table, generating revenue and economic activity for local retailers, farmers, and farmers markets.

Congress has given itself an extension to pass a final budget, and this why they need to hear from you that the Build Back Better priorities, especially child nutrition, must be protected. We have the opportunity to disrupt child hunger, to let our kids be kids who can focus on learning and on playing, instead of worrying about whether they’ll be able to eat. National School Lunch Week highlights the heroic work of school nutrition programs and workers who have been working so hard to make sure kids don’t go hungry while facing significant food and funding shortages. When you call on Congress to protect the child nutrition priorities in Build Back Better, you are supporting these programs as well as our students.

What You Can Do