BOSTON — With food insecurity rates remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels – and Congress voting not to extend the Universal Free School Meals program – advocates are urging Massachusetts legislators to extend the program statewide.
The federal program enacted during the pandemic allowed all students, regardless of familial financial status and city of residence, to get free breakfast and lunch in school. The program will end on June 30, reverting to the previous protocol of requiring applications for free school lunch, despite the U.S. Department of Agriculture finding that need remains high nationwide.
Leaders from Project Bread, a Boston-based food access non-profit, briefed legislators last week on the state of hunger in Massachusetts, and asserted the need for rapid action on a new bill that would extend the Universal Free School Meals program in the state.
Families are “facing a perfect storm” on food insecurity with the end of federal programs, said Jennifer Lemmerman, Vice President of Public Policy at Project Bread. “Time is of the essence.”
Rates of food insecurity have improved since their worst levels amid the pandemic, with the help of federal programs, but families continue to struggle to recover to where it was prior to the pandemic.
“We know food insecurity was an issue before the pandemic, but it reached unprecedented levels,” said Erin McAleer, President and CEO of Project Bread. “It remains higher today than it was in February 2020.”
Losing access to free school lunch “destabilizes families across the state,” said Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, a supporter of the bill. Loss of free meals hurts families in all financial areas. “Housing and healthcare are impacted,” said DiDomenico. “It affects everything.”
New Bedford qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision, a federal program that reimburses school districts for universal breakfast and lunch, and will not be affected by the end of the USDA waivers. But nearby towns and communities will be, including Norton, Wrentham, and Walpole.
Rep. Antonio Cabral, D-New Bedford, joined DiDomenico in support of the bill.
“Parents and caregivers are stretched thin enough right now battling rising inflation and gas prices,” said Cabral. “Families rely on New Bedford’s universal meals program. This type of assistance needs to be provided to all children across the Commonwealth.”
Project Bread data estimated the end of the program will mean the loss of access to an estimated five million meals for children will be lost. School meals were the top source of free food in the state during the pandemic, and many communities in Massachusetts will lose access to them throughout the summer and into the next academic year.
“This is the worst time to end this program,” said Rep. Andres Vargas, D-Haverhill, who also spoke at the briefing.
Advocates believe state legislators are taking the issue seriously in response to the federal government’s decision as they consider extending free meals throughout at least the next year.
“We need to make sure Massachusetts steps up to the plate in place of federal inaction,” said Vargas. “We want to take programs that worked really well during the pandemic and extend them during the recovery.”
McAleer and other advocates from Project Bread want to see the program become permanent. Some states have already enacted similar legislation that will extend universal free school meals indefinitely, including California and Maine.
Other federal programs utilized during the pandemic will also be ending, likely within the next few months, such as increased access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits. Currently, all adults on SNAP has had the maximum allowance.
“That has been huge”, said McAleer. But this benefit is only allowable while the Public Health Emergency Declaration is in place. When that is lifted, SNAP benefits will go back to relying upon the calculations used prior to the pandemic, based on income and household size.
“When this ends, we want families to know they won't have to worry about feeding their kids at least two meals a day,” said McAleer.
The bill needs to be passed before the June 30 expiration date, or students across the state will lose access to vouchers for summer meals. Lemmerman stressed the stakes for children and families, and the need to get moving before the consequences come to pass. “We are facing a cliff.”