Media Contact:
Emily Pickren
epickren@frac.org
202-640-1118
Statement attributed to Jim Weill, president, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
WASHINGTON, November 6, 2019 — The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) today announced its support of the Caregivers Access and Responsible Expansion for Kids Act of 2019, or the CARE for Kids Act, introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA). The bill would help support children being raised by grandparents or extended family members by ensuring automatic access to free school breakfast and lunch.
FRAC is proud to endorse the CARE for Kids Act because it would ease the financial burden on grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members who are raising children, and bolster the nutritional support for these children by maintaining access to healthy school meals. The bill would build on existing school meals eligibility for foster children — who are already eligible for free meals — by ensuring that children diverted out of the foster care system to the care of relatives, often grandparents, are not left behind. In the wake of the opioid epidemic, placing affected children with their grandparents or other family members can support better outcomes and provide much needed stability, and it shouldn’t limit their access to free school meals.
School breakfast and lunch provide nutritious meals that support learning and health. Participation in school meals is linked to improved academic achievement, test scores, attendance, and behavior.
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The Food Research & Action Center is the leading national nonprofit organization working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the United States.
