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With Child Nutrition Waivers Set to Expire, Senator Hirono, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Extend Meal Flexibilities to Keep Children Fed

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing the Support Kids Not Red Tape Act, legislation to keep children from going hungry by extending U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) school and summer meal flexibilities from June 30, 2022 to September 30, 2023. At the beginning of the pandemic, Congress established child nutrition waivers to ensure states, school districts, K-12 schools, and nonprofit organizations could have the flexibility they need provide free meals to every child all year long, whether they were learning remotely, or in the classroom. With 90% of our schools still facing many challenges as they return to normal operations, these flexibilities give our school and summer meal programs much-needed support to deal with ongoing food service issues and keep kids fed. Currently, the waivers are set to expire on June 30, 2022.

Last week, Senator Hirono led the entire Hawaii Congressional Delegation in urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to do everything possible to extend these flexibilities through September 30, 2023.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly challenging for families in Hawaii,” said Senator Hirono. “From job losses, to school closures, to a shortage of affordable child care—many families have struggled just to keep food on the table. But Democrats in Congress took action at the onset of this pandemic to make sure that one thing parents don’t need to worry about is whether or not their kids have food. As we continue our recovery, schools and nonprofits still need flexibility to keep children fed, which is why it is so important that we extend these child nutrition waivers. I’m going to do everything I can to get these waivers extended and ensure no child in Hawaii goes hungry.”

The bipartisan Support Kids Not Red Tape Act would:

  • Extend USDA’s authority to issue waivers from June 30, 2022 to September 30, 2023. This is simply a continuation of the authority USDA has had and exercised throughout the pandemic. This would cover this summer, as well as the full 2022-2023 school year, and summer of 2023, and create a transition plan to help schools adjust back to normal school meal operations starting October 1, 2023.
  • Direct states to submit a transition plan to USDA so that schools will be prepared and supported when transitioning back to normal National School Lunch Program operations after the increased flexibilities end.
  • Direct the Secretary to provide technical assistance to states on drafting transition plans and to School Food Authorities on meeting meal standards during the waiver period.

“This issue is personal to me. I didn’t have much growing up—and sometimes we would run out of money by the end of the month. While we didn’t have the kind of school lunch program we have now, my school helped me “earn free lunch by having me be a cashier during lunch hour,” Senator Hirono added. “I knew even as a young girl that it is wrong for any child to go hungry at school for lack of lunch money.”

In addition to Senator Hirono and Stabenow, this legislation is cosponsored by 50 members of Congress including Sens. Murkowski (R-AK), Heinrich (D-NM), Collins (R-ME), Manchin (D-WV), Gillibrand (D-NY), Casey (D-PA), Van Hollen (D-MD), Smith (D-MN), Brown (D-OH), Baldwin (D-WI), Booker (D-NJ), Lujan (D-NM), Klobuchar (D-MN), Durbin (D-IL), Warnock (D-GA), Markey (D-MA), Duckworth (D-IL), Sanders (I-VT), Reed (D-RI), Leahy (D-VT), Wyden (D-OR), Shaheen (D-NH), Hassan (D-NH), Bennet (D-CO), Merkley (D-OR), Warren (D-MA), Padilla (D-CA), Warner (D-VA), Murray (D-WA), Cardin (D-MD), Coons (D-DE), Cortez Masto (D-NV), Carper (D-DE), Schatz (D-HI), Peters (D-MI), King (I-ME), Feinstein (D-CA), Rosen (D-NV), Menendez (D-NJ), Kaine (D-VA), Blumenthal (D-CT), Murphy (D-CT), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Whitehouse (D-RI), Kelly (D-AZ), Sinema (D-AZ), Ossoff (D-GA), Tester (D-MT), Schumer (D-NY), and Cantwell (D-WA).

Today, Senator Hirono released a video statement on the importance of keeping children fed and her own experience with food insecurity growing up. A link to download that video can be found here, and a transcript is below.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly challenging for families in Hawaii. From job losses, to school closures, to a shortage of affordable child care, and more—many families have struggled just to keep food on the table. But Democrats in Congress worked to make sure that one thing parents don’t need to worry about is whether or not their kids have food.

There are currently a lot of restrictions on how and when schools can provide meals to students—which prevents many families in-need from accessing free meals. But in 2020, we created waivers that allowed every kid in Hawaii to get free meals all year long—whether they’re learning remotely, or in the classroom. Organizations like Kaukau 4 Keiki have used these waivers to provide hundreds of thousands of meals to children.

Without these child nutrition waivers, thousands of children across our country may have gone hungry. Unfortunately, this is especially true in Hawaii, where we have the second highest rate of child food insecurity in the country.

But now, these waivers are at risk of expiring.  If that were to happen, countless families would be left worrying about how to feed their kids. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.

I led the Hawaii congressional delegation in urging the United States Secretary of Agriculture to immediately do everything he can to extend these waivers until September 2023. I also joined my colleagues in introducing a bill to do the same.

But I want to be clear: the issue of child food insecurity is not new. While the pandemic has created even more challenges—there have always been too many children in Hawaii who have had to learn in school on an empty stomach.

This issue is personal to me. I didn’t have much growing up—and sometimes we would run out of money by the end of the month. While we didn’t have the kind of school lunch program we have now, my school helped me “earn free lunch by having me be a cashier during lunch hour. That’s how I got my free lunch. But I was still more fortunate than some of my friends. I knew even as a young girl that it is wrong for any child to go hungry at school for lack of lunch money.

So while I’m working to immediately extend these waivers—I’m also fighting to pass a bill that would permanently make lunches free for every single student who goes to public school in this country. The same as health care, I believe that free lunch for children should be a right for kids, not a privilege. Mahalo.

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