September 23, 2020 – Yesterday, U.S. Representative Rodney Davis introduced H.R. 8325, also known as the bipartisan Operation Feed Our Kids Act. The Act requires the USDA to extend the free school meals through the end of the 2021 school year. The waiver authority lapses on September 30, 2020, and allows schools the ability to continue utilizing the summer meal programs such as Summer Food Service Programs and the Summer Seamless Option for the rest of the 2020-21 school year in order to serve all children.
“I represent too many kids who don’t know where their next meal may come from,” said Rep. Davis. “The ‘Operation Feed Our Kids Act’ is so desperately needed to give our schools, families, and school nutrition professionals certainty during this pandemic. USDA’s authority to extend the school meal program waivers lapses in a matter of days. We must extend these through the entirety of the 2020-2021 school year and provide necessary funding to ensure that kids have access to consistent and much-needed healthy meals. Congress must pass this legislation now, and not use our kids as political bargaining chips.”
Key points of H.R. 8325:
- Extends the USDA Child Nutrition waiver authority deadline to 12/31/2021 provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which will lapse on 9/30/2020;
- This authority allows all child and adult care centers to operate as non-congregate; allows USDA to waive meal pattern requirements; provides authority to issue nationwide school meal waivers that helps to eliminate paperwork for states so schools can quickly adopt and utilize flexibilities.
- Qualified programs include: the school lunch program; school breakfast program; the child and adult care food program; and the summer food service program for children.
- Directs USDA to extend at least all of the child nutrition waivers granted under FFCRA authority as of 9/11/2020 within 30 days of enactment for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year; these waivers have been granted by USDA and likely funded through 12/31/2020.
- Authorizes “such sums necessary” to fund the waivers.
