WASHINGTON, DC -- With a June 30 deadline looming, President Biden recently signed a new child nutrition law extending the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) authority to issue certain nationwide waivers through the 2022-23 school year and making sure schools and meal providers can continue to feed kids healthy meals through the summer using meal deliveries and grab-and-go options.

The measure extends free meals for all children until the end of the summer.  U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who supported the Keep Kids fed Act, says the new law will ensure young people will have access to healthy food all summer and during the coming school year.

“This is about giving kids a healthy start and a chance to achieve their full potential.  Extending free summer meals to all students and extending school meal flexibilities through the 2022-23 school year should bring welcome relief to parents on a tight budget and ensure no child goes hungry during the summer or in the classroom when school comes back into session,” said Senator Reed, who has been advocating since 2021 for extending the pandemic-era waivers allowing extra flexibility and increasing federal funding for school meal programs.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. No: 116-127), which Congress passed in 2020, provided USDA with the flexibility and resources it needed to expand eligibility for school meals and address the challenges of serving students who were not physically present in school buildings.  As a result, roughly 30 million children received a free school lunch in the 2021-22 school year, and families in need didn’t have to fill out paperwork for their child to qualify.

Reed teamed up with U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on a bipartisan proposal to extend pandemic school meal waivers giving school districts extra federal financial support and flexibilities to continue to provide free food to more kids.  Ultimately, key elements of that bipartisan legislation were included in the new law.

The recently signed Keep Kids Fed Act will:

  • Extend flexibilities for summer meals in 2022. This will make it easier to feed all students during the summer months through flexible options like meal delivery and grab-and-go.
  • Extend school meal program administrative and paperwork flexibilities through the 2022-2023 school year. This will help schools streamline their meal operations and continue operating despite supply chain disruptions.
  • Increase the reimbursement rate for school lunch and school breakfast to help offset the increased cost of food and operating expenses for schools. Schools will receive an additional 40 cents more for each lunch and 15 cents more for each breakfast served.
  • Help daycares and home providers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program offset increased costs by providing an additional 10 cents per meal and streamlining reimbursement rates.