The nation wants to feed hungry students: Congress, make it happen

When an overwhelming number of Americans support a specific public health policy, as rare as that is these days, you’d think our elected leaders in Washington would rush to pass legislation that reflects the will of their respective voters.  

And when that policy involves the pressing issue of solving child hunger, you’d think Congress would move expeditiously to prevent further suffering endured by a defenseless segment of the U.S. population. 

Unfortunately, that isn’t happening. 

The fate of a bill that addresses this very problem by making free school meals permanent for eligible U.S. recipients is currently in limbo. Research has shown such programs can have a positive impact on student math and English test scores. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults support it.

Congress has the ability to act, right now, to make it federal law for the upcoming school year. But the bill has stalled, and its future remains in doubt.  

During the pandemic, nearly 30 million students benefited from waivers that guaranteed access to free school lunch across the U.S. Those benefits expired last year. Since then, nearly a third of students who relied on the free lunch program no longer have access to a daily free meal. In fact, the number of students receiving free lunches last fall was lower than it had been prior to the pandemic.    

The expiration of the federal school lunch program has put pressure on the states — the ones that recognize the importance of helping America’s food-insecure children — to keep this worthy initiative going. A handful have governed and reached bipartisan agreement to fund a permanent solution. Some funded programs through the end of the recent school year, while others are drafting or enacting legislation to try and address the long-term problem.  

New legislation in Congress seeks to make free school meals permanent. The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023 proposes to make meals available without the hurdles, barriers and red tape that have complicated access for many children following the expiration of the pandemic-era lunch relief program. 

One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), captured why congressional action is needed: “In the richest country on earth, it is unacceptable that millions of kids go hungry each day,” she said. She added that the 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.”  

Astonishingly, the U.S. trails the rest of the world in recognizing and prioritizing the value and importance of free school lunches for students. Research by the Global Partnership for Education found these initiatives create better learning outcomes and higher school attendance. The group also found investments in these programs support the overall health and development of nations through the creation and enablement of educated populations. 

In fact, governments from over 80 countries around the globe have formed the School Meals Coalition with the stated goal to provide “a healthy meal every day for every child.” Each member nation must sign a pledge committing to working together to “[s]et out a long-term plan to restore access to school meals for children who lost them during the pandemic and reach those previously left behind.”  

The U.S. is included among the list of signatories of that coalition, yet many in Congress have failed to honor the important public health mission that this collective has endeavored to resolve. 

Child hunger exists in every state in the nation. It is a red and blue issue. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture operates a summer program that provides free meals to eligible children in 45 states. But soon, another school year will begin, and many children will be faced with the fear of not knowing when their next meal will arrive unless Congress does something about it. 

Free school lunch permanency would represent great progress toward reducing the daily pain felt by millions of children across the country. It’s also even more important, now that the debt limit agreement has constrained Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program accessibility for food-insecure Americans.   

Starving students need it, and the vast majority of U.S. adults support it. So what’s stopping Congress from taking action to solve it?  

Lyndon Haviland, DrPH, MPH, is a distinguished scholar at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy.