FRAC Chat

On Friday, June 24, 2022, Congress passed the Keep Kids Fed Act (S. 2089), a bipartisan and bicameral bill to help mitigate the impact of the loss of the child nutrition waivers due to expire next Thursday, June 30, 2022. This bill is an important first step that would increase reimbursements to schools and child care centers, support access to summer meals, and streamline access to healthy meals for children in family child care.

The bill was introduced in the House by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and in the Senate by Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR). Learn more about the provisions of the Keep Kids Fed Act.

Families with young children in the United States are facing a hunger crisis.

During the pandemic, Stanford’s RAPID survey has been tracking hunger among American families with young children. Before the pandemic, 18% of RAPID families with young children were experiencing hunger, and by October 2020, this number had risen to 30%. Hunger gradually decreased during 2021 but remained consistently above pre-pandemic levels.

This September, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will take place with the goal of ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases and disparities in the U.S. by 2030.

FRAC, along with other anti-hunger organizations underscored five priorities for the conference.

To ensure these priorities are put into the forefront during the conference, FRAC nominated several people to speak about their lived experiences with hunger during a series of virtual, regional listening sessions hosted by the White House. They shared their stories and recommendations during these sessions.

In a blog series, we will share the remarks of a few of the advocates who spoke during these sessions. This blog shares the remarks from Diane Sullivan, Co-Founder of Equitable Spaces.

Last month, the USDA announced a policy to improve equitable access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP by including discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the prohibition against sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

FRAC’s SNAP Deputy Director, Andrew Cheyne, was joined by Vicky Negus, Policy Advocate at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute to discuss the implications of this policy, and what else can be done to provide more equitable SNAP access for the LGBTQIA+ community.

On Tuesday, June 14, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule updating Federal-State Agreements (FSAs) that are critical for ensuring civil rights protections in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The final rule, which was proposed by the Obama administration, will take effect on August 15, 2022. It reaffirms USDA’s commitment to ensuring “no person in the United States shall, on the grounds of sex, including gender identity and sexual orientation, race, color, age, political belief, religious creed, disability, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subject to discrimination under SNAP.”