
States Show Us What Is Possible With Free Healthy School Meals for All Policies
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To keep child hunger at bay during the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued waivers to allow schools to provide meals at no charge to all students, no matter their household income. Without these waivers, the alarming spikes in childhood hunger caused by the fallout of COVID-19 would have been even worse.
But the waiver authorizing free school meals for all students expired in June 2022.
The pandemic served as a valuable lesson on the critical importance of providing healthy meals to all students. We can’t let that lesson be forgotten.
It’s time to move forward, not turn back.
Healthy School Meals for All — offering school breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge to families —helps ensure that all children have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.
We need to continue building on what we know works in order to fuel children’s health and learning.
Tell Congress hungry children can’t wait.
Healthy School Meals for All is also critical for advancing racial equity and justice, ensuring Black, Indigenous and Latinx students get the nutrition they need to support their education and beyond.
SEND EMAILBy providing healthy school meals for all students, we can eliminate school meal debt and the lunch shaming that can stem from it.
Children can’t learn on an empty stomach and school meals are just as important to students’ academic success as textbooks and transportation. Free school meals for all students leads to many benefits for students, families and school staff.
Learn MoreHear from school food service professionals, parents, and teachers on the wide-ranging impacts of Healthy School Meals for All policies.
Healthy school meals for all students would be a game changer. Encourage your legislators to endorse the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023. This bill would ensure that all children have access to nutritious meals in order to learn and thrive year-round as we recover from the pandemic and beyond.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORTELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Across the U.S., parents, teachers, students, doctors, nurses, dieticians, policymakers and many others are raising their hand in support of Healthy School Meals for All. California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Michigan and Massachusetts have passed 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 during the 2023-2024 school year. Many other states are considering similar legislation. Join us in being part of the solution!
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Anti-hunger, education, and child advocates across the country are calling for their state to implement Healthy School Meals for All. Check out their campaign websites here.
California | New York |
Colorado | North Carolina |
Connecticut | Ohio |
Maine | Pennsylvania |
Maryland | Rhode Island |
Massachusetts | Vermont |
Minnesota | Wisconsin |
FRAC is proud to convene the National Healthy School Meals for All Coalition, a diverse group of national anti-hunger, education and child advocacy organizations dedicated to building support for and passing nationwide free healthy school meals for all legislation. Read the Coalition Statement of Support.