Championing Healthy School Meals for All: A Real Solution for Hungry Students

WHEREAS, 1 in 6 households in the United States with children is impacted by food insecurity;[1] and

WHEREAS, the AFT has long championed free healthy school meals for all as an important way to decrease food insecurity, reduce stigma and foster well-being for students; and

WHEREAS, numerous studies have shown that students who participate in universal school feeding programs achieve stronger health outcomes and greater academic success than students who lack food security;[2] and

WHEREAS, AFT members across the country report significant food waste at locations that do not permit the distribution of surplus food to hungry students and community members through sharing tables or food donation to nonprofit partners as is recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); and

WHEREAS, utilizing surplus food to feed hungry students and the community at large through community partner food donations and site-based sharing tables is a win-win by both reducing food waste and feeding those in need; and

WHEREAS, food unnecessarily discarded rather than redistributed to those in need in appropriate, safe and legal ways is an affront to both the school staff charged with feeding the community and the people within the community who would most benefit from a healthy meal; and

WHEREAS, more states are adopting legislation that guarantees a healthy school meal for every student, every day, no questions asked; and

WHEREAS, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA temporarily removed the economic barriers districts had faced when providing meals to students; and

WHEREAS, thanks to the USDA’s rule changes during the pandemic, schools were able to offer free healthy meals to all students, every day, no questions asked, allowing students to thrive even during this difficult time in our country; and

WHEREAS, upon the waiver’s expiry in the 2022-23 school year, districts reported paperwork delays, a massive increase in student lunch debt, and an overwhelming surge in demand at local food pantries; and

WHEREAS, the USDA will reimburse a school for a student’s meal when they are individually certified based on household income, or alternatively the school may certify en masse based on the Community Eligibility Provision provided that a high enough percentage of enrolled students demonstrate a need; and

WHEREAS, the AFT advocated for and applauds the Biden administration’s lowered threshold for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) from 40 percent identified community need to 25 percent, which allows significantly more students to receive free breakfast and lunch; and

WHEREAS, community eligibility ensures that more of our nation’s students receive free school meals, regardless of family income; and

WHEREAS, using the new CEP formula is an improvement, it remains complicated, underfunded and does not provide a specific mechanism that adequately accounts for food cost growth or inflation over time:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will encourage and support locals that partner with their school district to find innovative ways such as sharing tables, community partnerships or other innovations that will decrease food waste within the framework laid out by the USDA; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue to lobby congressional representatives to expand healthy free school meals for all by simplifying the process, improving the reimbursement rate, and building in mechanisms for inflation protection so that more schools and districts can offer free meals to all students in need; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will collect stories about the positive impact of free school meals and the challenges faced in school communities without them, and use those stories to increase community awareness and raise the visibility of those affected; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will support and collaborate with locals and partner organizations to expand school meals for all at the local, state and national levels.