FRAC Chat

States are frequent labs of innovation for public policy and often model policies for Congress to pass nationwide. Eight states are doing just that by offering all students, regardless of household income, free school meals as they return to school this fall.

California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Michigan, and Massachusetts have all passed free Healthy School Meals for All policies. Additionally, Nevada is putting pandemic funds to good use by offering one more year of free school meals to all students.

Support the Raise the Wage Act of 2023 (H.R.4889/S.2488). This legislation will boost workers’ wages by gradually increasing the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2028 and give roughly 28 million Americans a long overdue raise. Increasing the minimum wage would significantly benefit working women and their families as well as help to promote racial justice.

Ultimately, to end hunger in the U.S., we must build an economy where growth and prosperity are shared in an equitable way. That means not only restoring the value of the minimum wage, but also supporting higher wages for struggling workers, enforcing wage and hour laws, creating more robust public and private jobs, and establishing parental leave policies and child care supports that make such work feasible. When we have accomplished this, then we can truly celebrate Labor Day.

Now is the time to get your school meals advocacy gear ready to support schools, school meals, and students by helping to expand free school meals for all. Use these FRAC resources to learn the school meals basics and spread the word in your community about Healthy School Meals for All, so that every school year all children have the nutrients they need to thrive and make it their best school year ever.

Lack of access to food is a major concern when natural disasters strike.

As we head into September, which is National Disaster Preparedness Month, there have been 15 confirmed weather-related disasters in the U.S. this year – with losses exceeding $1 billion each.This includes the devastating wildfires in Hawaii and California, the heavy rains that caused landslides and unprecedented flooding in Vermont and New Hampshire, and the drought conditions impacting numerous Midwestern states. Overall, these events have resulted in the loss of lives, homes, property, and food, causing significant economic effects on the impacted areas.

Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) and other federal nutrition programs play a critical role in mitigating spikes in food insecurity during such challenging times. This is due to their ability to expedite and strengthen the response to disasters of various types.

Momentum for Healthy School Meals for All is building.

Eight states, California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Michigan , and Massachusetts, have passed policies to permanently offer free school meals to all students, and Nevada has extended free school meals for all through the 2023–2024 school year. These policies will ensure that all students are hunger-free and ready to get the most out of their school day.