U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) on May 22 introduced a bipartisan bill that would authorize grants to carry out a food service delivery pilot program for children during the non-school summer months.
“Meals on Wheels is such a successful public-private partnership that helps adults in rural areas have access to nutritious meals that we want to create a similar program to help kids in rural or hard-to-reach areas when they’re not in school,” Rep. Davis said.
The congressman sponsored the Meals on Wheels for Kids Act of 2020, H.R. 6968, with lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), to authorize $5 million annually over the three-year pilot grant program to deliver summer meals to eligible children who participate in the federal summer meals program or free/reduced-price breakfast program. Children who qualify would live in rural or hard to reach areas and would be unable to travel to congregate feeding sites because of distance or safety concerns, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Davis’ office.
“In Illinois, there are 35 counties, six within my district alone, without a summer meal site and many more counties are underserved,” said Rep. Davis. “Our bill will help fill in these gaps when schools are closed and could help if congregate feeding sites are unable to operate due to a pandemic like the one we’re experiencing now.”
If enacted, the bill would direct the funding during the three-year pilot to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which would provide states with grants that would be matched by states to create and carry out a meal delivery program, according to the summary.
States would be required to submit plans identifying the service institutions they would partner with, and those institutions would be required to provide children with at least five delivered meals per week, according to the summary, which notes that selected grantees may use the funding to provide children with healthy meals during extended school breaks or school closures like those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
H.R. 6968 is supported by Share Our Strength and Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen.
Additional cosponsors of the bill include U.S. Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX), Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).