Tell Congress: We must extend free school meals to all children

Children need healthy food in order to learn, grow, and thrive. Even before COVID-19, more than 1 in 7 children—10.7 million—lived in households where not everyone had enough to eat, with Black and Hispanic children twice as likely as white children to experience hunger. Then, the pandemic hit and child hunger reached dangerous new heights.

Thankfully, Congress and the USDA authorized schools to offer free meals to all children—regardless of income, age, or zip code—through the 2021-2022 school year in response to the pandemic. To advance racial equity and ensure no child goes hungry, Congress must act now to make free school meals permanent. Without action, schools will be forced to revert back to strict eligibility criteria, and millions of children will be denied the healthy meals they need to succeed in and out of the classroom.

Send an email to your members of Congress today and tell them that we cannot take meals away from our nation’s kids.

Tell Congress We must extend free school meals to all children

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Dear [Decision Maker],

I'm writing to urge you to co-sponsor the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021 (S. 1530 / H.R. 3115) and include it in the upcoming budget reconciliation package (https://bit.ly/2HxRPuP). Extending universal meals beyond the pandemic will improve child well-being, advance racial justice, and reduce costs and paperwork for schools and communities.

The importance of universal school meals has been underscored by COVID-19. Before the pandemic, nearly 11 million children lived in homes without enough to eat, and Black and Hispanic children were twice as likely as white children to experience hunger. Fifty-eight percent of children without enough to eat were children of color. When the pandemic hit and schools closed, millions of children lost access to healthy meals overnight, and food insecurity among families with children skyrocketed. Congress and the USDA took action to ensure schools and community organizations could temporarily offer meals to all children at no charge, and it is imperative that we maintain universal school meals after the pandemic.

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I urge you to act now and include the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021 (S. 1530 / H.R. 3115) in the upcoming reconciliation bill to ensure no child loses access to healthy free school meals after the pandemic. We cannot take meals away from our kids.

Thank you for prioritizing and investing in the well-being of our nation's children.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Your Email]