To ensure every child has enough to eat to grow, learn, and thrive during our nation’s recovery and beyond, our lawmakers must pass Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) legislation that strengthens the Child Nutrition programs, especially during out-of-school times when children are hard to reach.
Feeding America supports the following proposed pieces of legislation that will ensure the summer months aren’t hungry months.
Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act of 2021 (S.2005)
- Introduced by Senator Boozman (R-AR) and Senator Leahy (D-VT)
- What would this bill do?
- Allow kids to consume summer meals off-site through innovative methods, including mobile feeding programs, grab-and-go options, and backpack meal programs
- Authorize the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program, which would provide eligible families $30 per summer month per child for up to three months to purchase eligible food items from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Learn more
Stop Child Hunger Act of 2021 (S.1831/H.R.3519)
- Introduced by Senator Murray (D-WA), Representative Levin (D-CA), and Representative Hayes (D-CT)
- What would this bill do?
- Make the Summer EBT pilot a permanent, nationwide program
- Authorize EBT cards for eligible households with a balance worth the daily value of school lunch and breakfast to cover school closures of more than five days, including summer and winter school breaks and unanticipated school closures
- Allow eligible households to use EBT cards for the purchase of food only from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in SNAP
- Provide grants to states to support the development of data systems or upgrades to existing data systems to carry out the Summer EBT program
- Learn more
Summer Meals Act of 2021 (S.1170/H.R.783)
- Introduced by Senator Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Murkowski (R-AK), Representative Young (R-AK), and Representative Larsen (D-WA)
- What would this bill do?
- Lower the area eligibility threshold to allow areas with 40 percent or more of students receiving free or reduced-price school lunch to be eligible for summer meals
- Reduce the paperwork burden for summer meal program sponsors by allowing them to operate one program year-round
- Improve nutrition in rural and other hard-to-reach areas by providing transportation grants to get children to summer meal sites and promoting innovative ways to increase children’s access to summer meals (e.g., through mobile meal trucks)
- Offer summer meals sites the option of serving up to three meals or two meals and a snack, critical for children who attend evening enrichment programs during the school year and summer months
- Allow Summer Nutrition Program providers to serve food to children after emergencies or disasters and be reimbursed if the meals are taken off-site
- Learn more
