Earlier this week, the sponsors of the "Summer Meals Act of 2015" (HR 1728/ S. 613) held a briefing on Capitol Hill.
This legislation is a bipartisan and bicameral measure focused on the improvement and expansion of Summer Nutrition Programs. The Senate version is sponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and the House version (H.R. 1728) is sponsored by Representatives Don Young (R-AK) and Rick Larsen (D-WA).
Summer Nutrition Programs help provide children from low-income families, relying on low cost or free meals during the school year with access to healthy and nutritious meals during summer months as well. This legislation is essential to children's learning, development and health. These programs are implemented in many ways such as child care facilities.
The Summer Meals Act of 2015 focuses on improving Summer Nutrition Programs in four major ways. First, it proposes to change the eligibility standard. Currently, a site must have 50% of the children within the area eligible for low-cost or free meals in order to qualify for Summer Nutrition Programs. Under this proposal this standard would be lowered, making the requirement only 40% of children. The administrative process will be simplified enabling sponsors to provide children with meals year-round without having to apply separately to operate during the summer. At this time, agencies are providing children with only two meals per day but this proposal would increase that to three meals per day. Finally, it proposes making transportation grants available to sites enabling them to reach children in under served areas.
Not only do these programs provide children with the healthy meals they need but they also create an arena for continuous learning and help prevent the loss of learning over the summer. Further, these sites create an environment that will guide at-risk youth on a path toward success and help to pull them out of the cycle of poverty.
For more information on this bill, click here.
By Jordan Soto, Summer Policy Intern
