John,

At the outset of the pandemic, Congress passed school and summer meal waivers, which removed barriers to schools’ and summer programs’ ability to feed hungry kids. This legislation tripled the reach of the summer meals program in 2020 and doubled it in 2021.[1]

Now, that bill is set to expire in one week, on June 30th.

In response, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives are rushing to pass a solution―the Keep Kids Fed Act―which would extend summer waivers, allow eligible children to receive free school meals, streamline access to healthy meals for children in child care, and increase reimbursements for schools and child care providers.

The House will take a vote on this legislation today. And, in the Senate, they are aiming to use a process known as Unanimous Consent, which would require every single senator to vote yes. A single no vote could derail this critical legislation.

Will you write to your senators and representative right now and urge them to immediately pass the Keep Kids Fed Act and ensure millions of hungry children continue to have access to school meals this summer and next fall? Click here to take action today.

Senator Debbie Stabenow, a co-author of the bill, said this week: “With 90% of our schools still facing challenges as they return to normal operations, this will give our schools and summer meal programs much-needed support…. Congress needs to act swiftly to pass this critical help.”

Last month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned senators that, due to inflation, school budgets would be hard-hit due to rising food, supply, and labor costs if the waivers ran out.

Click here to write to your senators and representative today and urge them to immediately pass the Keep Kids Fed Act―a lifeline to schools and families.

No child should have to go hungry. Thank you for demanding action today.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ https://www.npr.org/2022/06/21/1106460324/school-meal-waivers-expire-bill