WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (MN-05), introduced the School Modernization and Efficient Access to Lunches for Students (MEALS) Act. This legislation aims to create greater access to free school meals by reducing administrative hurdles, expanding eligibility, and simplifying the certification process for students in need, while also addressing the issue of unpaid meal debt.
“The primary focus of every student in the classroom should be on their education, not hunger,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “Too many children from families in need miss out on free meals because of unnecessary paperwork and overly complex procedures. The School MEALS Act is designed to eliminate red tape by improving direct certification and eligibility, ensuring students in high-need districts have full bellies and are ready to learn.”
Congresswoman Omar, a cosponsor of the legislation said, “As someone who has worked in nutrition education and experienced hunger firsthand, I know how vital it is for students to have access to healthy meals. With nearly 14 million children facing food insecurity in our country, the School MEALS Act will make it easier for kids to receive the nutrition they need to succeed,".
“The School MEALS Act would decrease stigma and increase participation in school meal programs among eligible students- improving outcomes for the 1 in 6 children in Connecticut who are experiencing food insecurity. Connecticut Foodshare is pleased to support Representative Hayes in advocating for this important bill and in her continued advocacy on behalf of those we serve,” said Jason Jakubowski, President & CEO, Connecticut Foodshare.
The School MEALS Act focuses on strengthening two key federal tools directed to simplify access to school meals: Direct certification and Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Through direct certification, school districts use data matching procedures to approve eligible students without an additional application. The CEP allows high-need school districts to offer meals at no charge to all students and eliminates the need for school meal applications.
To ensure all eligible children benefit from direct certification, the School MEALS Act
- Provides $25 million for Direct Certification Improvements –$22 million in grant funding would support states in improving their direct certification processes and $3 million would support Department of Agriculture technical assistance activities.
- Designates $2 million to Support the Direct Certification of Native American Children – The legislation sets aside $2 million of the funds provided for improvement grants to assist tribal organizations in establishing mechanisms for direct certification.
- Expedites Performance Progress – If states do not directly certify at least 95 percent of children living in households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, they must develop a continuous improvement plan (CIP). The legislation would require states to implement their improvement measures within three years.
To strengthen CEP adoption and implementation, the School MEALS Act
- Eliminates the June 30 CEP Application Deadline– It elects CEP for the upcoming school year. Creating an artificial deadline creates an undue administrative burden and limits the ability of high poverty school districts to adopt the provision.
- Expands the Eligibility Data Timeframe – Data used to determine eligibility for CEP must come from April 1 of the school year prior to implementing CEP. This legislation would expand this timeframe to the end of the prior school year, giving school districts more time to conduct data matching and gather additional documentation to ensure all identified students are accurately counted.
This legislation is endorsed by Connecticut Foodshare, the National Education Association, and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.
Full text of the bill can be found here.