{"id":1202,"date":"2023-09-25T15:42:47","modified":"2024-09-02T20:48:20","slug":"fetterman-whitehouse-welch-introduce-bill-to-cancel-all-school-lunch-debt","link":"https:\/\/www.fetterman.senate.gov\/fetterman-whitehouse-welch-introduce-bill-to-cancel-all-school-lunch-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Fetterman, Whitehouse, Welch Introduce Bill to Cancel All School Lunch Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, DC\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman, along with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Peter Welch (D-VT), last week introduced the\u00a0School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act\u00a0<\/em>to cancel student lunch debt nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018School lunch debt\u2019 is a term so absurd that it shouldn\u2019t even exist. That\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to introduce this bill to cancel the nation\u2019s student meal debt and\u00a0stop humiliating kids and penalizing hunger,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>said Senator Fetterman.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s time to come together and stop playing political games with American\u2019s access to food. September is Hunger Action Month and I\u2019m proud to be introducing this bill to help working families now, while we work to move our other priorities to combat food insecurity in our nation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo child in Rhode Island \u2013 or anywhere in America \u2013 should be penalized for not being able to afford school lunch. It\u2019s that simple,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>said Senator Whitehouse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOur legislation will eliminate lunch debt in schools, supporting every child\u2019s access to a healthy meal and positioning them for long-term success.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur students shouldn\u2019t have to worry about how they\u2019re paying for lunch \u2013 full stop. I\u2019m proud to partner with my colleagues Senators Fetterman and Whitehouse on this commonsense bill, and urge my colleagues to stand with us,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>said Senator Welch.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWe have a duty to ensure that every student \u2013 in Vermont, and across America \u2013 is supported and respected.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the height of COVID-19 in 2020, federal lawmakers made the unprecedented move of providing free lunch for every public-school student in America. This program expired last fall, but many states have been rolling out their own universal free school meals programs and seen sizable results. Even schools that don\u2019t offer free meals usually won\u2019t turn away hungry students. Instead, they will feed them and collect payment later, leading to \u201cschool lunch debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are over 30 million children in the U.S. who can\u2019t afford their school meals and the national public school meal debt is a whopping $262 million a year. In Pennsylvania alone, there are nearly half a million food insecure children who collectively owe nearly $80 million in debt. Meanwhile, child poverty in the United States\u00a0more than doubled last year, while the average household income declined. This bill will ease the financial burden on working families by directing the USDA to pay for all debts owed to schools for lunch or breakfast programs.<\/p>\n

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, fighting food insecurity is one of Senator Fetterman\u2019s main priorities. The\u00a0<\/em>School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act\u00a0<\/em>is one step in a larger effort to do so.<\/p>\n

In June, Senator Fetterman was one of just four Democrats to vote against the debt limit bill because of its harmful cuts to SNAP and has promised to oppose any legislation that worsens food insecurity. He has also introduced legislation to combat this issue, including the\u00a0Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to provide free breakfast, lunch, and dinner to every student, and the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>to allow striking workers to qualify for SNAP benefits. He additionally supports\u00a0expanding community eligibility provisions\u00a0to allow schools in low-income areas to serve free meals to all their students.<\/p>\n","protected":false}}