By Pollyana Ramos Tucker
Legislation was announced Friday that would permanently provide free meals to all school children regardless of income, while also eliminating school meal debt.
The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021, announced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ilhan Omar, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Rep. Gwen Moore, looks to expand on the universal free lunch waivers that have recently been extended by the USDA. The federal waiver has been approved for the 2021-2022 school year and will continue to provide meals to all students for free.
A few points of the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021 include:
- Free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to all school children.
- Increased school breakfast and school lunch reimbursements rates to match the recommended rates of the USDA’s estimated cost of producing meals.
- No more school lunch shaming. Under the new bill, all federally funded schools would be prohibited from denying any child a prepared hot breakfast or lunch.
- Free summer meals to all children and Summer EBT to all low-income children.
“In the richest country in the world, it is an outrage that millions of children struggle with hunger every day,” said Sen. Sanders. “Every child deserves a quality education free of hunger. What we’ve seen during this pandemic is that a universal approach to school meals works. We cannot go backwards. I am proud to introduce this legislation alongside my colleagues to ensure no student goes hungry again.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by over twenty U.S. House Representatives and nine U.S. senators, including California senator, Alex Padilla. The bill is also endorsed by over 360 organizations, including the School Nutrition Association, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the Hunger Free America.
Legislative text available here.