Anti-hunger advocates were shocked when Congress passed an $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill.
One month earlier, more then 2000 organizations had signed a letterThe 52-year old Food Research and Action Center started the petition to demand Congress keep allowing schools to ignore a host of rules that pre-COVID, meant-tested student eligibility for school lunch and breakfast programs, and restricted what was served and how it was served.
“The COVID pandemic is far from over,” the letter stated. “Families continue to need support, particularly Black, Hispanic and Indigenous families who disproportionately lack reliable access to healthy meals…. School nutrition departments and community sponsors still struggle to operate under the unique circumstances created by the pandemic.”
Those unique circumstances, of course, shuttered schools in March 2020, and the letter reminded lawmakers that because of the unprecedented health crisis, Congress gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture — which oversees school meals programs — the authority to issue nationwide child nutrition waivers “to address access and operational challenges” created by the fast-spreading virus.
In short order, schools began to make grab-and-go bag lunches and breakfasts available for pick-up at designated sites; allowed school buses to drop off meals at students’ homes; and extended eligibility for meals to every student, regardless of family income. When schools reopened months later, no-cost meals — and in some cases after-school snacks — continued to be provided to each and every pupil.
These changes will expire on the 30th of June unless Congress acts.
Advocates claim that this will have a devastating impact on students as well as food service staff, school administration, and other school personnel.
Schools will have to return to a three-tiered system if the waivers are not extended. Free meals for families below 130 percent of federal poverty guidelines ($23.803 for a family of two; $36,075 if a family of four); reduced-fee meals for families between 131 percent and 185 percent of the guidelines (upto $33,874 for two, $51,338 for four); and full payers, whose per-meal fee is determined by local school authorities.
Before the pandemic, “we spent millions of dollars a year on paperwork,” Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free AmericaNew York City-based advocacy organization and direct-service organization, titled Truthout. “It was and is counterproductive. We know that food is important. key to educational advancement. If a kid hasn’t eaten breakfast, by 2 pm their head will be on the desk and they will be napping. Universal school meals increase attendance, improve the health of children and give them a good start in their lives. When we force people to fill out forms to prove they’re eligible, we’re essentially spending money to keep food away from kids who need it.”
Even if lawmakers do not care about the morality of letting kids go hungry, the bottom line is that kids can’t study and learn unless they’re well fed, Berg said. The pandemic has made it increasingly difficult to provide high-quality, nutritious food.
“Schools are short-staffed and food prices have skyrocketed,” Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations at the School Nutrition AssociationThe, a professional association that represents more than 50,000 food service workers, and agencies, reported Truthout. “But thanks to the waivers, schools have been reimbursed at a rate of $4.56 per lunch as opposed to $3.75, which is what they received pre-COVID. This makes a big difference.” Going back to the lower reimbursement rate, she explained, will be devastating because of escalating food, labor and fuel costs.
“The idea is that it is time to get back to normal, but what schools are facing is not close to normal,” Pratt-Heaver said. “There are huge supply chain issues and many families are struggling with unemployment, the high cost of gasoline and health issues. People who are slightly above the federal poverty threshold are still having trouble making ends meet and if their kids are no longer eligible for free meals, it will be a huge loss.”
Jillien Meier is the director of No Kid HungryShare Our Strength, an American nonprofit that works to end poverty and hunger in the U.S., and around the globe, published a campaign called. Truthout that the waivers have given schools “a cushion and breathing room” to mitigate shortages.
“There has been difficulty finding bread, ketchup and ground beef,” she said. “We have been hearing stories of school staff going to Kroger’s or Costco at 4 am to pick up supplies. Many people go above-and-beyond to ensure children have healthy food. Not extending the waivers is hitting these programs when they’re already down. Everyone wants to return to normal, but normal isn’t here yet. The waivers allowed non-congregate meals sites to offer food, and allowed the bundling more than one meal at once when schools are closed. This was helpful to staff preparing the food as well as to food recipients.”
These measures were extremely important for the staff who work in the workplace. Paradise Unified School District in California, an area that was decimated in 2018Wildfires erupted on 240 miles of land, killing 86 people. “The waivers that were put in place due to the pandemic have made it possible to serve more of our community, not just our K-12 students,” Tanya Harter, director of food services for the district, told Truthout. Children enrolled in charter schools and daycare centers were also fed.
Harter’s colleague, Melissa Crick, is the president of Paradise District Schools, a locale with six schools serving 1487 students, at least 30 percent of whom lack a permanent home. Many families are living in trailers or cars, or renting temporary homes, or are doubled up. Families are finding it difficult to get food without help from the local district due to high unemployment and distances between their homes and schools.
“Hundreds of people need food and jobs, but gasoline is $5.60 a gallon so a 20-mile drive puts a huge strain on the already strained resources of most families,” Crick said.
Additionally, the federal government provided short-term federal recovery funds to the district following the wildfires. These funds are due to expire before next academic year starts. “If the state does not come in to help, we will have to make layoffs in the schools,” Crick said. “About 90 people — teachers and staff, including food service workers — will have to be terminated.”
She added that if the remaining staff has to process requests for reduced- or free-of-cost meals, it will only exacerbate this already difficult situation.
“It makes no sense to take away critical programs when we know that a tidal wave of social and emotional issues will continue to come at us,” she continued. “Students are reporting more suicidal ideation and are seeking a record number of counseling appointments. We should be increasing services, not decreasing them, and not just here in Butte County, but nationwide.”
“Without Eating, I Can’t Focus on School”
Dawn Zephier and her five kids have relied on school meals as a lifeline. The family fled a “bad situation” in South Dakota last August and now live in Las Cruces, New Mexico. “When we arrived, I rented a motel room,” she begins. “There were nine of us living together at that time, including two grandchildren, and I thought that we’d stay in the motel for a week or two, tops. But there is a crazy! affordable housing shortageWe were really stressed out by it. We had to stay in the motel for four months.”
Zephier said that even though the family now lives in a four bedroom house, thanks to the Section 8 subsidy Zephier believes that the free school meals have been a lifesaver.
Israel, her 17 year-old son, agrees. He begins to say that school meals are often criticized, but they can be very enjoyable. “I take food even if I’m not hungry,” he says, “and even if I don’t like it because someone else in my house might like it. I know that without eating, I can’t focus on school. If I’m hungry, I need to eat something, even if it’s just a stick of gum.”
Eric, Eric’s brother, adds that Eric didn’t know that he could eat more than one meal when he first entered the school. “One of the guys who makes the food told us that we can take seconds or even thirds. So, hey, it’s free, and when you don’t know when you will eat again, you might as well chow down until you can’t eat anymore.”
Israel and he work part-time. But he says that Israel and him both have access to free meals, which has enabled him to help his siblings and mom, as well as exposing him to the needs and wants of others with low incomes.
“When we were in South Dakota, my son told me that a boy had his lunch tray taken away because his family owed money to the school for his meals,” Dawn told Truthout. “Why would anyone humiliate a child this way? No child should have to deal with this kind of bullying; every kid should have enough food to eat.”
Anti-hunger advocates agree completely and are working with Congress in order to see if waiver extension can be added to pending legislation.
“We need Congress to act now or the next school year will be derailed,” Meier says. “Yes, there are a lot of competing issues and it is easy for something like school meals and nutrition programs to get lost, but advocates are not calling it a day. All the anti-hunger groups have been persistent in pressing Capitol Hill and White House to do something. We are looking for any bill that could be amended to include waiver extension. We know that time is short. We also know that it is quickly running out.”
