Working to End Hunger in America

Thousands of school nutrition staff from across the country arrived in Las Vegas the second week of July for the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference. We were thrilled to have a FRAC booth there that allowed us to connect with many of the attendees who poured into the exhibit hall for endless food samples, equipment demos, plenty of “swag,” and good information on operating the school nutrition programs. The attendees also spent a lot of time in education sessions. Two of them were led by FRAC staff.

“Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

FRAC’s recent report on food hardship found that households with children answered “yes” to that question at a much higher rate than households without children, 18.4 percent compared to 14.1 percent. Given our nation’s high child poverty rates, this is not a surprise. The data alone, however, only begin to capture how much harm America is causing its children because of the poverty and hunger rates they suffer.

It’s going to get a whole lot easier to feed New Jersey kids, thanks to a package of bills passed this spring by our state legislature. The new school breakfast laws will affect an estimated 500 schools educating nearly 308,000 students. Together, the bills have the potential to feed tens of thousands more children through the federal school breakfast and summer meals programs, while bringing millions more in federal reimbursements back to New Jersey.