The President will be proposing a program that would ensure that all students who get free or reduced cost lunches during the school year would have access to food during the summer. Gary Crawford has the story.
A Proposal To Augment USDA’s Summer Meals Program
During the school year 20 million students from low-income families get free or reduced cost lunches. Report show it may be the only full meal of some of them get during the day, but in the summer when school is closed only about 3.8 million of those students are able to get to a meal site and take part in the agriculture department summer meal program.
“We think the time has come for us to commit as a country to make sure not 3.8 million youngsters have access to summer meals but all 20, 21 million kids.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack telling a white house meeting on child hunger that the president budget request next month will ask for 12 billion dollars over 10 years to provide electronic benefit cards to help families buy extra food for their children in the summer.
“The proposal is a $45 a month EBT card, with additional money allocated for states and start-up cause and the goal here is to reach million additional kids,” and over 10 years to reach all children eligible for free or reduced cost meals when school is in session.