U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) led a bipartisan contingent of her colleagues in requesting that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extend several school meal program waivers for the entire 2020-2021 school year and make additional funds available to schools to pay for related transportation costs of delivering the meals to low-income students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“During such an unprecedented crisis, we must ensure that schoolchildren have enough to eat,” wrote Sen. Collins and 35 of her colleagues in a July 29 letter sent to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Specifically, the lawmakers asked that eight waivers be extended nationwide: the Unexpected School Closures Waiver; the Afterschool Activity Waiver; the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Parent Pick-Up Waiver; the Waiver of Child Nutrition Monitoring; the Waiver of Food Management Company Contract Duration Requirements; the Waiver of Local School Wellness Assessments; the Area Eligibility Waiver; the Summer Food Service Program Waiver; and the Seamless Summer Option Waiver.
“For many children, school breakfast and lunch may be the only healthy and regular meals they receive,” according to the senators’ letter. “The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in millions of parents losing their jobs, and millions more students will be dependent on school-provided meals. School meal program directors must begin procuring food, equipment, and supplies and placing orders now in preparation for the upcoming school year.”
Sen. Collins and her colleagues also pointed out that under current regulations, the transportation costs for delivering meals to low-income students are not reimbursed by USDA.
“While many school meal programs are managing these costs for the time being, they cannot continue absorbing them for the foreseeable future,” wrote the lawmakers. “We ask that the USDA make additional funds available to schools to assist with the cost of delivering meals to low-income students until regular school operations are restored.”
Among the senators who joined Sen. Collins in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).