Pass H.R.6613, Keeping School Meals Flexible Act
Congressional child nutrition waivers that allowed for free meals in school and other food assistance measures are expiring June 30. NBC News
If the waivers end this month as scheduled, experts foresee a crisis as families, already facing soaring prices at supermarkets, gas stations, and elsewhere, lose access to meals that their children have counted on for the last two years.
The waivers let families pick up multiple days’ worth of food to take home, without them students have to stay on-site to eat one meal, an obstacle for families who lack transportation and time.
If the waivers expire, 7 million kids could lose access to two meals a day. Food and Environmental Reporting Network
FIND Food Bank alongside Congressman Raul Ruiz, our partnering school districts, PSUSD, DSUSD, and CVUSD, as well as national, state, and local organizations, ask Congress to further extend USDA’s nationwide waiver authority through the school year 2022-23 to ensure USDA has continued flexibility to respond to the ongoing and evolving impacts of the pandemic as well as its aftermath and to ensure that the federal child nutrition programs continue to operate and provide healthy snacks and meals to students.
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Take Action with Feeding America
Many rely on strong federal nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), child nutrition programs like the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and federal commodity foods through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Help advocate for federal nutrition programs with FIND and our network of 200+ Feeding America Food Banks working to fight hunger collectively in our communities.
Revisions to Thrifty Food Plan Since October 2021
SNAP 福利将比大流行前水平高出 27%,这要归功于节俭食品计划的修订,该计划控制了加州 SNAP 或 CalFresh 的最大配额。
根据瓦克斯曼合着的城市研究所最近的一份报告,美国一顿饭的平均成本为 $2.41——比最高食品券福利高 22%。 2020 年,在美国 96% 的县中,最高福利不包括价格适中的膳食的费用。然而,修订后将把这个数字减少到估计的 21% 的县。
“这对于 SNAP 福利充足性来说非常重要,但我们还没有完全做到这一点。” —— Lisa Davis,No Kid Hungry 高级副总裁
了解当地饥饿
儿童和夏季饥饿
- 22 million children receive free or reduced-cost lunches during the school year, but only 3.76 million continue to access those free meals in the summer. That’s where FIND’s Kids Summer Feeding Program steps in.
- 5 个中的 4 个 沙漠地区的儿童可能会遇到粮食不安全的情况。我们知道 超过 83% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals across the three regional school districts.
- FIND 提要超过 45,000 children per month 我们的移动市场和社区合作伙伴。 0-18岁儿童包括 36% of the total population we help feed.
农村饥饿
Rates of food insecurity among rural households are generally higher than in urban households. This is due to food deserts, which is an area that has limited access to fresh, nutritious food. While there might be a gas station or fast food nearby fresh produce can be hard to find. Data collected by Feeding America reveals that 84% of U.S. counties with the highest percentage of food-insecure children are rural.
- 农贸市场, FIND’s direct food distribution to farmworkers, feeds 400-750 farmworkers and their families every other week at different locations across the Eastern Coachella Valley.
- Farmworkers face a multitude of obstacles to accessing nutritious foods:
- 缺乏可靠的交通和地理隔离。农场工人可能需要开车 20 分钟或更长时间才能到达最近的健康杂货店。
- 收入不安全源于极端气温和农业工人淡季延长;他们在收获一种作物后失业 2-3 周意味着他们必须延长这些工资。
- 农场工作是一项体力劳动强度大的工作,许多人在年老时无法行动,无法自给自足。
- Agriculture is the second-largest contributor to the Desert’s economy. Farmworkers produce over 50% of the United States’ fruits and vegetables.
In the Hi-Desert, FIND reaches area residents through our mobile market at Copper Mountain College, and a distribution branch in the Morongo Basin where surrounding food pantries and soup kitchens can pick up food for their clients. This saves them from making the hour-long trip down to the Coachella Valley to pick up food items.
厨余
- 一个估计 40% 在美国种植、加工和运输的食品 永远不会被消耗。
- When food is disposed in a landfill it rots and becomes a significant source of methane – a potent greenhouse gas with serious side effects, including climate change.
- FIND 是沙漠地区最大的食品救援组织。我们救了 900万英镑 2020 年的食物!
- 这阻止了大约 747,000 英镑 将温室气体甲烷从垃圾填埋场排放到大气中。
高级饥饿
- FIND fed over 28,000 older adults on average each month in 2023.
- 与其他家庭相比,老年家庭通过补充营养援助计划 (SNAP) 获得帮助的可能性要小得多,尽管预期收益大致相同。
饥饿+健康
- FIND Food Bank 是一家健康食品银行,我们的总配送量始终为 40-50% 新鲜农产品。
- Read about the benefits of consistent healthy meals on Feeding America’s blog, 饥饿+健康