USDA pumps $750 million into school lunch program to counter inflation, supply chain woes
2 years, 11 months ago

USDA pumps $750 million into school lunch program to counter inflation, supply chain woes

CNN  

CNN — Schools are not only wrestling with how to educate children amid the surge in coronavirus cases. That’s why the US Department of Agriculture is pumping an estimated $750 million more into school meals programs nationwide as part of a midyear adjustment to the reimbursement rate. Schools will receive an additional 25 cents per lunch to counter higher food costs and other issues, the agency said Friday. “Second, at a time when families continue to face financial strain and hardship, this will give them fewer meal expenses to worry about each day.” Schools have been struggling to serve students meals amid the spike in food prices and supply chain disruptions. Only about half of school meals programs indicated the higher reimbursement rates for breakfast and lunch were sufficient to cover the costs of producing a meal, according to a study released last month by the School Nutrition Association.

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History of this topic

USDA bans school lunch fees for low-income families
1 month, 2 weeks ago

USDA bans school lunch fees for low-income families

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that students eligible for free or reduced price school meals cannot be charged processing fees beginning in 2027. Families that qualify for free or reduced lunch pay as much as 60 cents per dollar in fees when paying for school lunches electronically, according to the report. “But $3.25 per transaction, especially …

USDA to eliminate school lunch fees for low-income families
1 month, 2 weeks ago

USDA to eliminate school lunch fees for low-income families

LA Times  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that students eligible for free or reduced price school meals cannot be charged processing fees beginning in 2027. Families that qualify for free or reduced lunch pay as much as 60 cents per dollar in fees when paying for school lunches electronically, according to the report. We will continue to work with Congress to …

School lunch fees are taking a toll on parents, U.S. consumer watchdog finds
3 months ago

School lunch fees are taking a toll on parents, U.S. consumer watchdog finds

LA Times  

Single mother Rebecca Wood, 45, was already dealing with high medical bills in 2020 when she noticed she was being charged a $2.49 “program fee” each time she loaded money onto her daughter’s school lunch account. So I’d pay for six lunches, but only get five.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federal policy on fee-free school lunch, …

The $100M school lunch scam: how parents are cheated EVERY time they pay for their kids' meals
3 months, 1 week ago

The $100M school lunch scam: how parents are cheated EVERY time they pay for their kids' meals

Daily Mail  

Many parents barely notice the processing fees when they use the pre-paid system to cover their children's school lunches. More schools are turning to cashless systems that parents use to pre-pay for their kid's lunches Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says the systems often push 'excessive fees' on hard-up families As more schools turn to cashless …

USDA estimates 21 million kids will get summer food benefits through new program in 2024
11 months, 2 weeks ago

USDA estimates 21 million kids will get summer food benefits through new program in 2024

Associated Press  

Nearly 21 million children in the U.S. and its territories are expected to receive food benefits this summer through a newly permanent federal program, the United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. “They certainly shouldn’t go hungry because they lose access to nutritious school meals during the summer months.” In December 2022, Congress made Summer EBT permanent starting in 2024 …

Minnesota program to provide free school meals for all kids is costing the state more than expected
1 year ago

Minnesota program to provide free school meals for all kids is costing the state more than expected

Associated Press  

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s program to provide free school breakfasts and lunches to all students regardless of income is costing the state more than expected because of a jump in demand. Tim Walz signed the legislation last spring, advocates said the free meals would ease stresses on parents and help reduce childhood poverty while lifting the stigma on kids …

Massachusetts joins a small but growing number of states adopting universal free school meals
1 year, 4 months ago

Massachusetts joins a small but growing number of states adopting universal free school meals

Associated Press  

BOSTON — Massachusetts has joined a small but growing number of states adopting universal free school meals programs. About $172 million in permanent funding is also included in the budget to provide universal school meals for public school students in kindergarten through high school. Healey called the school lunch program “an investment in childhood nutrition that’s also removing a source …

Food for thought: Free meals for all New Mexico students
1 year, 8 months ago

Food for thought: Free meals for all New Mexico students

Associated Press  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed legislation to provide free school meals to all students regardless of family income, as New Mexico and several other states look to fill the gap left by lapsed federal pandemic-era benefit programs and address the strain to family budgets caused by food prices. About 67% — or 309,000 New Mexico …

“Poverty is a policy choice”: Minnesota kids cheer new law guaranteeing free school lunch for all
1 year, 9 months ago

“Poverty is a policy choice”: Minnesota kids cheer new law guaranteeing free school lunch for all

Salon  

This article originally appeared at Common Dreams. But 1 in 4 food-insecure kids live in households that don't qualify for the federal free and reduced meal program, leading to "mounting school lunch debts in the tens of thousands of dollars," Minnesota Public Radioreported. "As a former teacher, I know that providing free breakfast and lunch for our students is one …

Massachusetts governor seeks to extend free school meals
1 year, 9 months ago

Massachusetts governor seeks to extend free school meals

Associated Press  

BOSTON — A pilot program in Massachusetts offering universal school meals would be extended through the end of the 2023-2024 school year as part of a supplemental budget proposal filed Friday by Gov. The move comes as states have grappled with the end of a pandemic-era federal aid program that made school meals available for free to all public school …

USDA tells Senate panel it’s struggling to feed needy families
1 year, 10 months ago

USDA tells Senate panel it’s struggling to feed needy families

LA Times  

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the committee chair, defended the level of SNAP benefits. “But their income is strapped because they’re a working family that can’t afford child care, their health insurance might be out of reach for them or they are living in a state that hasn’t offered Medicaid coverage, the refundable child tax credit is no longer there for them.” …

Proposed changes to school lunches aim to reduce sugar and sodium, but flavored milk stays
1 year, 10 months ago

Proposed changes to school lunches aim to reduce sugar and sodium, but flavored milk stays

CNN  

CNN — If new US Department of Agriculture school food guidelines stand as proposed, chocolate milk is in, but for the first time ever, at least some added sugars will be out – and sodium levels will be reduced gradually. Vilsack said school meal administrators tell the USDA that kids just won’t drink much no-fat skim milk or unflavored milk. …

Feds Charge 47 In Scheme To Steal $250 Million From Program For Needy Kids
2 years, 3 months ago

Feds Charge 47 In Scheme To Steal $250 Million From Program For Needy Kids

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING MINNEAPOLIS — Federal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest fraud scheme yet to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children. Prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering …

Next stress for many parents: First school lunch bills since 2020
2 years, 3 months ago

Next stress for many parents: First school lunch bills since 2020

CNN  

CNN — Though East Hampton is a solidly middle-class town in Connecticut, dozens of families are applying for free school meals for the first time as they contend with high food costs and tight budgets. They are also trying to make sure that those who do qualify for free or reduced-price meals submit applications, which parents haven’t had to do …

Minister recognises schools are ‘not immune’ from rising food costs
2 years, 5 months ago

Minister recognises schools are ‘not immune’ from rising food costs

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Quince said the Government …

The Impending School Lunch Disaster
2 years, 8 months ago

The Impending School Lunch Disaster

Slate  

There’s a vast, underappreciated supply chain that provides for your kids’ school lunches. Helena Bottemiller Evich, a senior food and agriculture reporter at Politico, says that school administrations are “really upset” about these lunch adjustments expiring, and everyone’s unsure of what to do next. Mary Harris: Before the pandemic, I remember hearing all these stories about school lunch debt—kids who …

Millions of children will miss healthy school meals when pandemic relief expires
2 years, 9 months ago

Millions of children will miss healthy school meals when pandemic relief expires

NPR  

Millions of children will miss healthy school meals when pandemic relief expires Enlarge this image toggle caption Karen Ducey/Getty Images Karen Ducey/Getty Images When schools pivoted to virtual learning early in the pandemic, the National School Lunch Program was thrown into chaos. And as part of pandemic relief legislation, the federal Food and Nutrition services agency waived the requirement that …

Free school meals for all children can improve kids’ health
3 years, 4 months ago

Free school meals for all children can improve kids’ health

Salon  

Recognizing that millions of U.S. children are at risk of hunger, Maine and California have approved funding to offer free school meals to all students within their state. The Universal School Meals Program Act would provide free healthy meals and snacks to all children in public and nonprofit private schools regardless of income. When children return to schools in the …

California launches largest free school lunch program in U.S.
3 years, 5 months ago

California launches largest free school lunch program in U.S.

LA Times  

When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free, regardless of their family’s income. It’s beyond life-changing,” said Erin Primer, director of food services for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District on California’s Central Coast. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the state’s …

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