President Joe Biden signed a bill into law days before waivers offering free school meals were due to expire.
The bill means requirements for free and reduced lunches are suspended through the summer, giving every student access to free meals at schools, but districts will return to income-based requirements during the 2022-2023 school year. The Keep Kids Fed Act allows for supply chain and delivery flexibilities for districts to allow for grab-and-go style meals and address food supply shortages. In addition, the Keep Kids Fed Act increases the federal reimbursement rate for meals in an effort to offset costs to schools and daycares.
Congress recently debated whether to renew federal USDA waivers that allowed students of all income levels to have access to free meals. The pandemic-era program gave schools the flexibility to offer grab-and-go meals and deliver food during closures when students learned remotely. USDA estimated that 30 million children were given access to free meals at school through the waivers, an increase of 10 million students.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed against the extension in March, so it was kept from the budget signed and approved by Biden earlier this year. McConnell declined to comment when asked by media during his visit to Florence on Monday.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked the bill in the Senate and advocated for bringing back the reduced-price program, according to media reports. Paul’s office has not returned a request for comment.
The Keep Kids Fed Act was signed five days before the waivers officially expired.
The $3 billion plan extends all pandemic school meal waivers through the summer, and adds supply chain flexibilities through the 2022-2023 school year. The law also increases federal reimbursements for meals to account for inflation.
These measures come as schools are building their budgets with contingencies for inflation and the cost of diesel for school buses. In May, Walton-Verona Independent School District Finance Director Kevin Ryan called the lack of reimbursement for meals a “blind spot” in the district’s budget for the upcoming year.
Stephanie Caldwell, director of food services for Boone County Schools, said the extension and reimbursement rates will “help with the rising costs due to inflation and supply chain issues.”
“Universal access to school meals in Boone County, and across our Commonwealth, would help to reduce hunger during the school day so that every student may learn and to help our families with their food budgets,” Caldwell said.