With the school year underway, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wants to provide free meals to school children across the nation.
Her Universal School Meals Program Act would provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to all schoolchildren, regardless of their parent’s income level.
“In the richest country on earth, it is unacceptable that millions of kids go hungry each day. The Universal School Meals Program Act would provide funding for free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack for all students and slash burdensome red tape for school administrators,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This bill would make our families and communities healthier and stronger, keep kids in school, and work to fight the stigma too often associated with meal programs. I look forward to passing this critical legislation so every child in the United States has the food they need to succeed.”
Gillibrand says the bill would also expand access to free meals during summer vacation and eliminate school meal debt.
Currently, only eight states – California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan Minnesota, New Mexico, and Vermont – offer universal school meals.
According to USDA estimates, 9 million children live in households deemed food insecure.
