‘It's insane’: Millions of kids could lose access to free meals if this program expires
Families haven’t had to prove their income in recent months, but the Trump administration hasn’t extended that flexibility
The Trump administration is resisting calls to make it easy for tens of millions of students to get free meals at school this year, even as childhood hunger rates have risen to the highest levels in decades.
During the spring and summer, as the coronavirus health crisis exploded, the government allowed most families to pick up free meals from whichever school was closest or most convenient without proving they were low-income. But that effort is on the verge of expiring as states prepare for children to return to school, and as school systems are pushing the federal government to continue the free meals program through the fall.
So far, President Donald Trump’s Agriculture Department isn’t on board with an extension. School leaders are now asking Congress to force the government’s hand as lawmakers buckle down to work on the next coronavirus aid package.
“It’s impossible. It’s insane,” said Katie Wilson, executive director of the Urban School Food Alliance, which represents the largest school districts in the country, including those in New York, Chicago and Dallas. “Our districts have been screaming about it. They’re panicked.”
Schools already face enormous logistical challenges as they decide whether to have students learn online, in classrooms or in some combination of both this fall. Expanding free meal access would also cut down the pile of paperwork needed to enroll the millions of children expected to become newly eligible for government-subsidized or free meal programs.
If USDA doesn’t extend the flexibility through the fall, families may be able to CONTINUE READING: ‘It's insane’: Millions of kids could lose access to free meals if this program expires - POLITICO
