Working to End Hunger in America
FRAC improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions.
Resources for COVID-19
Hunger & Poverty in America
Explore the Data
Food Insufficiency during COVID-19
Explore the Data
Budget Reconciliation 101
Explore our report
Hunger, Poverty, and Health Disparities During COVID-19 and the Federal Nutrition Programs’ Role in an Equitable Recovery
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Ask the Biden Administration to Implement Universal School Meals
Read our Sign On Letter
COVID-19 Updates
FRAC posts all the latest on this page!
FRAC's 2020 Report on Federal Nutrition Programs in the Southern Region
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How does P-EBT work in your state?
P-EBT Updates
How has the latest bill in congress affected Child Nutrition Programs?
Nationwide Child Nutrition Waivers
USDA Guidelines on Using Existing Authority to Implement SFSP and SSO Meal Delivery
Q&As from the USDA on the logistics of delivering meals through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) while using existing authority.
News
FRAC Chat
This July, the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) released Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Strengthening Programs in Tribal Communities, a policy brief that outlines recommendations aimed at improving the impact of the federal Child Nutrition Programs in Indian Country through the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) process.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act authorizes the federal child nutrition programs, which reach millions of children each day and support educational achievement, economic security, nutrition, and health. Although most of the programs are permanently authorized, about every five years, Congress reviews the laws governing these programs through the reauthorization process.
CNR presents a unique opportunity to improve federal policies that have exacerbated food insecurity in Indian Country. This can be done by focusing on supporting access to the Child Nutrition Programs for Native youth and incorporating Tribal sovereignty into efforts to improve program operations.
Millions of children eat school breakfast and lunch daily at schools across the nation. To better understand the far-reaching benefits of the School Nutrition Programs, The Rockefeller Foundation and The Center for Good Food Purchasing published True Cost of Food: School Meals Case Study in November 2021. The report used a True Cost Accounting methodology, which considers the multiple dimensions of a food product, program, or system, to examine the School Nutrition Programs.
This season marks the five-year anniversary of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria that hit the United States hard and gave rise to major recovery operations, including on the food relief front. There are some clear lessons from those operations that can inform disaster preparation and recovery efforts in the future.
Recent Publications & Data
See More Resources- Fact Sheet
Many schools have found it more difficult to collect school meals applications during COVID-19, and this may be exacerbated as schools return to pre-pandemic operations. This toolkit shares outreach strategies and communication resources to help school districts and community partners ensure families return school meals applications.
View the toolkit - Report
In spring 2020, millions of students were either out of school or learning remotely. Pandemic EBT helped to fill the nutritional gap left by lack of access to school meals and had a large impact on addressing food insecurity.
FRAC’s latest Pandemic EBT report draws on a survey sent to all state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program directors to highlight the critical importance of this program for children, families, and school nutrition programs. It then takes lessons learned reported by states to make policy recommendations for a permanent nationwide Summer EBT Program and identifies best practices to support the implementation.
Read the report - Fact Sheet
Accompanying FRAC’s report, Pandemic EBT: Recommendations for a Permanent Nationwide Summer EBT Program, these state fact sheets provide a detailed picture of approved state P-EBT plans, including statistics on number of children served, communications and outreach strategies, and estimates of total benefit issuance.
Read the fact sheets - Guide
The reauthorization of the federal Child Nutrition Programs presents a unique opportunity to correct federal policy that has exacerbated food insecurity in Indian Country. In this policy brief, FRAC and the Intertribal Agriculture Council explore the ways Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) can ensure the Child Nutrition Programs reach and serve Tribal constituents in a more efficient and effective manner.
Read the policy brief