Momentum for healthy school meals for all at no charge is building across the country.
On August 18, the anti-hunger advocates from coast to coast raised their hand to show support for school nutrition programs and urge Congress to address childhood hunger by making free school meals for all children permanent.
On August 16, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that its reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) will result in an increase in average monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits of $36.24 per person compared with pre-COVID-19 levels. Average SNAP benefits will rise from the pre-COVID-19 amount of $4.20 per person per day to $5.39. The change will be implemented October 1, 2021, the start of federal fiscal year 2022.
In mid-August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is likely to announce the results of its reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the basis for calculating maximum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit levels. The reevaluation was mandated by the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill and directed by a Biden Executive Order. It could result in a permanent increase in SNAP benefits effective October 1, 2021, the start of federal fiscal year 2022.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have been crucial in mitigating food hardship and stimulating economic activity during the COVID-19 crisis.
A new report from the Urban Institute, however, documents that maximum SNAP benefit levels still fall short of the cost of low-income meals in 96 percent of all U.S. counties. Moreover, even with the 15 percent boost temporarily in place since January 2021, maximum SNAP benefits fall short of meal costs in 4 out of 10 counties.
Kaiser Permanente and the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), including FRAC’s initiatives, have partnered together many times to address food insecurity. Maryland Hunger Solutions (MDHS) worked with Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic Region on a “food as medicine” initiative as recently as 2015. Kaiser Permanente has also supported the community outreach work of MDHS and D.C. Hunger Solutions (DCHS) over the last decade.
