Federal waivers put in place at the height of the pandemic are allowed federal infant nutrition programs more flexibility in delivering meals to households, as the children were out of school.
These exemptions are ready to expire in a few months, and in Arkansas, hunger groups are warning that more children, especially in rural areas, will be at risk.
Tamara Sandberg, U.S. director of food security and nutrition for Save the Children, said the waivers allow parents to eat multiple meals for their children at once and in one convenient location.
“And the waivers allowed schools and other community partners to deliver meals directly to their homes, many, many more meals were distributed as a result,” Sandberg pointed out. “We are therefore very concerned about the impact this will have on the rate of children receiving meals this summer.”
One in five Arkansas children faces hungerand more than 48% of households with children rely on SNAP benefits.
Sandberg noted that leaders from across the country will meet at Rural Child Hunger Summit on April 28 to brainstorm ways to ensure rural children don’t go hungry as the country abandons pandemic-era policies.
Audrey Freshwater, Arkansas state director for Save the Children, said amid high gas and energy prices, demand for food aid is already skyrocketing in rural parts of the country. Arkansas. Freshwater communities will begin to feel the impact, especially schools.
“Hungry children are more likely to have lower math scores, repeat a grade and arrive at school late, or miss school altogether,” Freshwater pointed out.
Freshwater stressed that Save the Children will focus this summer on flexible and even unconventional access to meals for children, so families don’t have to walk long distances to pantries.
“We’re really leaning into this summer and partnering with new organizations as well as our existing districts to continue to address summer learning,” Freshwater noted, “but also addressing summer food issues. , ensuring that the children do not deprive themselves of meals, nor make their families.”
She added throughout the pandemic, Save the Children has provided nearly 45 million meals to rural children and their families across the country.
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Food insecurity is getting more and more attention these days, and some working families are still struggling to meet their basic needs due to rising living costs and eligibility for unemployment benefits. help out of reach.
A Minnesota plan aims to close the gap. Minnesota is one of the states that has not reached the maximum eligibility level for federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (INSTANTANEOUS).
Amber Lightfeather of Duluth is raising five children with her husband. Although they both earn more than $15 an hour, their earnings are not enough to cover the rising rent and other major expenses. Having to turn to local food shelves for help, she wants policymakers to be aware of the challenges.
“I think they should take into account the actual expenses that people actually have to pay to keep a roof over their heads,” Lightfeather argued.
Her family has to pay for the increased expenses while still not being eligible for SNAP benefits to buy more food. A Internal invoice would increase the state income threshold from 165% of the federal poverty level to a maximum of 200%.
Although the plan is unrelated, Senate Republicans reviewed government aid this session following a federal probe into the nonprofit “Feeding Our Future.”
A legislative tax memo said that because the proposed expansion is funded by the federal government, the state would incur only minor expenses for updating and maintaining databases.
Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis, the bill’s primary sponsor, worked in departments administering federal and state benefits, and saw too many families left behind.
“It’s an opportunity to help families who are on the cliff,” Noor said.
Noor added that even with rising wages in some areas, the higher costs of basic necessities are keeping many households closer to the poverty line. Lightfeather wondered how much longer families like his could keep it all together.
“We’re getting by, but if prices keep going up, maybe it won’t take too long,” Lighfeather acknowledged. “There’s going to be a breaking point for a lot of people.”
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You’d think food insecurity would improve as California recovers from the pandemic — but advocates say hunger remains a significant issue, especially in rural areas.
Nonprofits like Save the Children say they’re gearing up for a repeat of last year — in fact, they’ve served 700,000 meals in California and 44 million meals nationwide — since the start of the pandemic.
Cloe Chambers, California state director for Save the Children, said many low-income families work in the fields but cannot afford produce for their children.
“We see the same need,” Chambers said. “And when we have distributions, we run out of food boxes, so we work very hard to distribute them to as many families as possible.”
In rural Lake Los Angeles, the group uses a colorful bus to deliver boxes of food to families without transportation. And they distribute 40-pound fruit and vegetable boxes to 27 schools in Fresno, LA, San Bernardino and Tulare counties.
Advocates will brainstorm new approaches at the Rural Child Hunger Summit, taking place virtually April 27-28. People can sign up for nokidhungry.org.
Tamara Sandberg, senior food security adviser at Save the Children, said that across the country, 1 in 8 children go hungry. But it’s much worse in the rural areas the group serves.
“Hunger endangers the growth, development and well-being of children, especially in rural counties,” Sandberg said. “More than one in five rural children are estimated to be food insecure, higher than pre-pandemic levels.”
Statistics show that 90% of counties with the highest rates of food insecurity are rural. Moreover, major inequalities persist.
Blacks living in rural counties were 2.5 times more likely to be at risk of hunger than non-Hispanic whites. And Native Americans living in rural communities experience some of the highest rates of food insecurity of any racial or ethnic group.
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Federal pandemic waivers have reduced child hunger, says census dataand there are fears that these trends could reverse when the waivers expire in June.
Policies have improved access to school meals through a universal free lunch, additional emergency funds for EBT cards, and giving districts the ability to feed children through mobile delivery and backpack programs .
Katherine Unger, Policy Associate at Ohio Children’s Defense Fundsaid more meals were provided to more families during a time of great need.
“The end of these waivers, combined with the end of other aid that has helped families meet their basic needs, is just going to put more pressure on Ohio family budgets,” she said. , “and this comes particularly at a time when we are dealing with rising food prices, rising gasoline prices.”
Census data revealed that food insecurity among financially insecure households with children fell by 33% between April 2020 and July 2021. A new bipartisan bill in the Senate would extend the waivers for another year, after lawmakers failed to do so in the latest federal spending bill.
Congress also did not extend child tax credit advance payments past December, which Kimberly LoVano, director of advocacy and public education at the Greater Cleveland Food Banksaid he helped families put food on the table.
“The Child Tax Credit was not designed to be a nutrition program, but that’s just what it has become,” she said. the benefit of paying for things like utilities, rent, clothing, education.”
Demand has not slowed at Ohio food banks and pantries and is expected to pick up as inflation rises. LoVano said it is not receiving the necessary federal support as a result of rising costs and supply chain issues. She called it a perfect storm.
“Without these waivers being extended and without Congress authorizing additional dollars for food banks to distribute emergency food,” she said, “we’re just going to see a situation this summer where it doesn’t there just aren’t as many resources to get us out of food, which really worries us.”
President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2023 is asking for $519 million for the emergency food aid program, up $38 million from last year.
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