Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Priority

Expand the Afterschool Meal Program Nationwide

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The Afterschool Meal Program provides federal funding for meals served to children (up to age 18) at afterschool and youth development programs located in low-income areas. Currently, only 13 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia are included in this important program. This leaves afterschool programs in the remaining states without the resources to provide the nutritious food that children and teens need in order to continue learning throughout the afternoon, especially as more and more parents work longer and non-traditional hours, and children stay longer in care. The Afterschool Supper Program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). All meals served must comply with USDA nutrition guidelines.

In all other states funding is theoretically available for afterschool suppers, but only for children younger than 13 and under rules that require much more paperwork. Fewer than 100,000 children nationally participate through this program, primarily due to the program’s difficult administrative rules.

Congress should make the Afterschool Meal Program available nationwide, because children in low-income communities in every state need access to meals after school.

• The Afterschool Meal Program contributes to educational achievement and keeps children safe. The nutritious meals draw children into educational and enrichment activities that keep them learning and safe during the afterschool hours, which is the time when children are most likely to get into trouble. Studies document that juvenile crime peaks between the hours of three and six. This is also the time when children are most likely to become victims of crimes and when teenage girls are at the highest risk of becoming pregnant.

• The Afterschool Meal Program ensures that children and teens get enough food to continue learning throughout the afternoon. An apple and a glass of milk (a typical afterschool snack) is healthy and will stave off a child’s hunger for a short time, but it will not do so for the length of many afterschool programs. Many programs provide care for three hours or more, which makes serving a more substantial amount of food even more important.

• The Afterschool Meal Program helps parents who are working longer hours. Many low-income children have parents who work jobs with nontraditional hours and have long commute times. The afterschool meal program ensures that these children have access to healthy food.