A bipartisan bill now before Congress aims to address summer meal programs for children across the United States.
Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
Two New York Congress members are crossing party lines to push for passage of legislation aimed at boosting summer meal programs around the country.
Congressman Dan Goldman, a Democrat representing Brooklyn and Manhattan, has teamed up with Brooklyn Democratic Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and upstate Republican Congressman Marc Molinaro to introduce the ‘Summer Nutrition Parity Act,’ aimed at bolstering local summer meal providers to combat inflationary pressures and ensure sustained meal services for children.
The bipartisan bill seeks to equalize the funding formula for summer meals with that of school-year meals, providing crucial support for providers to keep pace with inflation and serve meals throughout the year.
“Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation, nor does inflation take a summer hiatus,” Goldman said in a Feb. 23 statement. “We must ensure that our children are fed year-round so they don’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from.”
The disparity in resources between the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) has long been a concern. While the NSLP allocates 40 cents worth of USDA products per meal, the SFSP only receives 1.5 cents worth, largely due to stagnant program rates unadjusted for inflation over decades.
In the United States, more than one in six families with children struggles with food insecurity, posing significant risks to child development, including higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Inadequate nutrition is also linked to asthma, diabetes, anemia, and oral diseases.
Back in December 2023, when the bill was first introduced, Molinaro emphasized its necessity, noting it provides “a simple fix to index the donations they receive from the federal government to inflation, so they can continue fighting hunger and caring for kids.”
The potential impact of the ‘Summer Nutrition Parity Act’ extends beyond addressing childhood hunger; it holds promise in combating poverty, particularly in urban centers like New York City.
According to a recent report from Robin Hood, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty, and Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, more than half of New York City residents live at or near the poverty line.
The report also revealed a staggering 66% increase in the child poverty rate, rising from 15% to 25%, with poverty in NYC nearly double the national rate.