News

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2019 — Too many children across the country are missing out on the nutrition they need during the summer months when the school year — and access to school breakfast and lunch — ends, according to a new report from FRAC. Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report finds that only 1 in 7 of the low-income children who participated in school lunch during the 2017–2018 school year received a summer lunch on an average weekday in July 2018.

The Food Research & Action Center strongly supports legislation that was introduced this week to ensure low-income children across the country have access to the nutrition they need during the summer months when they lose access to healthy school meals.

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 — FRAC announced its support of the No Shame at School Act, introduced by Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith, both Democrats from Minnesota. The bill would ban any kind of identification of students who cannot pay for lunch at school, like wristbands or hand stamps, and not allow schools to publish lists of students who owe money for school meals or use debt collectors to recoup meal fees.

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2019 — Congress passed a long-awaited $19.1 billion disaster aid package that includes much-needed help for communities in many states and U.S. territories. Notably, it includes $600 million for Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), which is the Commonwealth’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Unlike SNAP, which is designed to provide assistance to all eligible people who apply, NAP is structured as a limited block grant.

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2019 — More students across the country are benefiting from community eligibility, according to a report released by FRAC. Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools finds that the number of schools participating in community eligibility grew by 14 percent compared to the 2017–2018 school year, with 64.2 percent of eligible schools participating.