{"id":21839,"date":"2020-09-02T12:13:11","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T19:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=21839"},"modified":"2020-09-02T12:13:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T19:13:11","slug":"usda-extends-free-meals-for-children-through-december-31-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/09\/02\/usda-extends-free-meals-for-children-through-december-31-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"USDA extends free meals for children through December 31, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From a USDA News Release<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will extend several flexibilities through as late as December 31, 2020. The flexibilities allow summer meal program operators to continue serving free meals to all children <\/a>into the fall months. This unprecedented move will help ensure \u2013 no matter what the situation is on-the-ground \u2013 children have access to nutritious food as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA has been and continues to be committed to using the Congressionally appropriated funding that has been made available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs our nation reopens and people return to work, it remains critical our children continue to receive safe, healthy, and nutritious food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA has provided an unprecedented amount of flexibilities to help schools feed kids through the school meal programs, and today, we are also extending summer meal program flexibilities for as long as we can, legally and financially,\u201d said Secretary Perdue<\/strong>. \u201cWe appreciate the incredible efforts by our school foodservice professionals year in and year out, but this year we have an unprecedented situation. This extension of summer program authority will employ summer program sponsors to ensure meals are reaching all children \u2013 whether they are learning in the classroom or virtually \u2013 so they are fed and ready to learn, even in new and ever-changing learning environments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchool Nutrition Association greatly appreciates USDA addressing the critical challenges shared by our members serving students on the frontlines these first weeks of school. These waivers will allow school nutrition professionals to focus on nourishing hungry children for success, rather than scrambling to process paperwork and verify eligibility in the midst of a pandemic.” said School Nutrition Association (SNA) President Reggie Ross, SNS<\/strong>. “We look forward to continuing our dialogue with USDA to ensure school meal programs are equipped to meet the future needs of America\u2019s students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday\u2019s announcement brings a huge relief to our school meal program and the community we serve,\u201d said Lindsay Aguilar, RD, SNS, Director of Food Services for Tucson Unified School District, AZ<\/strong>. \u201cMany of our families who might not qualify for free meals are still going through a tough time and are worried about how to keep food on the table. Now their children will have one less thing to worry about as they adjust to evolving in-school and remote learning scenarios. These waivers also eliminate a massive administrative burden for our school nutrition staff, allowing them to focus on feeding children.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese waivers will ensure every hungry child in the city of Cleveland has access to healthy school meals, while eliminating the burdensome, time consuming process of verifying and documenting enrollment,\u201d said Chris Burkhardt, SNS, Executive Director of School Nutrition for Cleveland Metropolitan School District, OH<\/strong>. \u201cOur school nutrition team had to develop and implement a bar code verification system this fall that has greatly complicated and slowed service. With these waivers, we\u2019ll be able to speed up meal distribution for the safety of staff and families and ensure no student is denied access to healthy meals.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

USDA\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is extending a suite of nationwide waivers for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) through the end of 2020, or until available funding runs out. This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n