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This report highlights the role that school nutrition waivers have played in supporting school nutrition operations and access to school meals, the importance of extending the waivers through the 2022–2023 school year, and the path forward to ensure all children have access to the nutritious school meals they need to learn and thrive. 

Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved the Colorado and Vermont
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) child care plans for school year 2021–2022 in April, a growing number
of states have been approved. So far, all of the approved plans have used the simple approach to
calculate the percentage decrease in lunch participation in the Child and Adult Care Food
Program compared to pre-pandemic levels to set a monthly benefit amount for children younger
than 6 participating in SNAP.

New Jersey has a strong existing network of anti-hunger programs and coalitions, each with their own experts, best practices, and lessons learned. A primary goal of a statewide effort to end hunger is to leverage the skills and expertise of the individuals involved in these initiatives and increase coordination among programs. This assets-based approach aims to validate past and
ongoing work and create a broad base of community and institutional involvement. This publicly accessible catalog will allow communities and institutions to make connections across topic area and place.

Leveraging the federal nutrition programs is a key strategy to help reduce and prevent food insecurity effectively and equitably. In this brief, a supplement to Hunger and Its Solutions in New Jersey: Landscape Analysis of Current Initiatives, Recommended Action, and Emerging Opportunities for Further Investment, FRAC provides further information on the landscape of the federal nutrition programs in New Jersey. 

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act
authorizes all of the federal child nutrition programs.
The child nutrition programs reach millions of
children each day and improve educational achievement,
economic security, nutrition, and health. Although most of
the programs are permanently authorized, about every
five years, Congress reviews the laws governing these
programs through the reauthorization process.

The federal nutrition programs are a critical safety net for tens of millions of struggling households — including individuals of all ages — by helping them put food on the table during times of need. Investing in hunger prevention and relief makes good fiscal sense.

FRAC responded to USDA’s request for comments on their final rule on transitional nutrition standards for school meals. In addition, FRAC provided recommendations for steps USDA should take to update the nutrition standards for SY 2024-2025 and beyond to more comprehensively reflect the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Congress should again protect SNAP’s structure and funding, and Congress should strengthen SNAP by adopting provisions contained in the bills listed in the attachment.

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that authorizes most federal policies governing
food and agriculture programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
formerly known as Food Stamps. Approximately every five years, Congress reauthorizes the Farm Bill. Reauthorization offers policy makers an opportunity to review the programs included in the legislation, consider programmatic changes, and address implementation barriers that may have come up since the
previous reauthorization. With the 2018 Farm Bill set to expire on September 30, 2023, discussions about the Farm Bill are beginning already.

The next pandemic relief legislation passed by Congress must ensure that children can access the healthy food they need through child nutrition programs, including at school and during the summer. The following three provisions designed to support economic recovery and provide pandemic relief recently came close to being enacted and now must be included in the next piece of legislation.

Congress must enact a child nutrition reauthorization bill that strengthens program access and supports participation by underserved children, ensures nutrition quality, and simplifies program administration and operation. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the federal child nutrition programs, and several policy improvements that were made during COVID-19 should be implemented permanently by Congress. The reauthorization also should build on the critical gains — which improved access and nutrition — that were made in the last reauthorization.

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act authorizes all of the federal child nutrition programs.
The child nutrition programs reach millions of children each day and improve educational achievement,
economic security, nutrition, and health. Although most of the programs are permanently authorized, about every five years, Congress reviews the laws governing these programs through the reauthorization process. 

Grandparents are the primary caregiver for 6 percent of children under 6 years old. According to USDA, over 5 percent of WIC-eligible infants and children live in families without parents; 3.6 percent live with a related nonparent caretaker, and 1.7 percent live with an unrelated nonparent caretaker. The recommendations in the FRAC Fact Sheet focus on specialized outreach, policies, and services that can be used to help overcome barriers and maximize participation.

Produced with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this report evaluates food insecurity in New Jersey and proposes actionable recommendations to eliminate hunger across the state.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts across food and early care and education (ECE) systems that has exacerbated inequities and racial injustices in food, health, and education. While severely devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis, the ECE sector and food and agriculture systems are ripe with opportunity to build back with greater equity and resiliency. Farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) can be a component of building back better.