More than 30 million children depend on school breakfast and lunch programs to shore up their nutrition needs. 22 million more qualify for reduced-price meals (Lance Cheung/USDA/flickr)
In late August, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a letter to lawmakers that the USDA would end a school meal waiver program by September 30. The program has helped low-income families survive the pandemic crisis.
On August 31, the agency abruptly changed its stance, announcing that those measures would extend through the end of the school year in December.
Since schools closed in March, waivers have made it easier for parents to pick up free meals, extending the service to children who are not of school age and expanding the income levels needed to qualify.
The moves also allow coordination with local community organizations to make meal pickups easier for families who do not live close to a school.
In the early days of the pandemic, the agency dragged its feet amid calls to extend the benefits, with hundreds of anti-hunger and child advocacy groups pushing for the White House to extend benefits that had been authorized in the COVID-19 Child Nutrition Response Act through September 30.
In the August 20 letter responding to pressure for extensions, Perdue claimed that the emergency law would not allow the agency to keep the flexibility measures in place.
“While we want to provide as much flexibility as local school districts need during this pandemic, the scope of this request is beyond what USDA currently has the authority to implement and would be closer to a universal school meals program which Congress has not authorized or funded,” he wrote.
Lawmakers and advocacy groups disagreed, saying the law had given the agency broad authority to extend waivers.
But amid a growing outcry, a little more than a week later on August 31 the agency suddenly pivoted, announcing the waivers would be available through the end of the year. The USDA maintained that Congress had not authorized the move.
According to the advocacy group Urban Institute, only 60 percent of the families that qualify for school meal assistance have been able to pick up the food during the pandemic, despite the waivers.
Read More:
In Abrupt Reversal, USDA Extends Summer School Food Waivers (The Fern)
USDA Extends Free Meals For All Students Through 2020 (EdNC)
Under Pressure, USDA Extends Flexible Free School Meals For Kids Program (CBS)
