A proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would limit eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), our nation’s foremost anti-hunger program. While it was initially believed that up to 500,000 children would lose direct certification for free school meals as a result of this proposed rule, the Department of Agriculture recently released information that up to 982,000 children would no longer be directly certified for school meals. Because this data was left out of the Department’s initial impact analysis of the proposed rule, the public comment period is once again open to allow input on this new information.
Access to adequate food and nutrition is absolutely necessary for children to learn. Please contact the USDA and urge the withdrawal of this rule.
Even if you submitted comments on September 23, when the first alert on this issue was shared by various advocacy groups, please do so again today.
All comments must be submitted before 11:00 pm, Friday, November 1.
To send your message, please go to Regulations.gov and click on the Comment Now box in the upper right corner. Enter your comment as a “citizen” and explain how many children at your school receive free breakfast or lunch and how this would affect their learning.
