Government Action on Child Summer Hunger Heats Up

It’s hard to imagine summer without picturing children running around, playing with friends in the sunshine and enjoying the fresh fruits and vegetables of the season. In preparation for all of this carefree activity, legislators are turning their attention to policy improvements that can help make a happy, healthy summer within every child’s reach.

For many low-income families, the last days of school are the beginning of a delicate balancing act of the family food budget. They can no longer rely on free or reduced price school lunch and breakfast to help them make ends meet.

The federal Summer Food Service Program, of which the Food Bank is a sponsor, does provide relief for those children who have the means to get to sites. Even though SFSP program participation in Texas increased nearly 39 percent from the previous year, the program only reached 11 percent of eligible children. There’s a great deal that needs to be done and quickly.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray’s bill, the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act, addresses this problem by providing families with children who receive free or reduced price meals with an EBT card, similar to food stamps. Expanding on the success of the Summer EBT for Children pilot program, the results should show, as it did in the pilot, not only significantly reduced hunger during the summer months but also improved consumption of healthy foods and less sugary drinks.

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How can we afford this?  The real question is how can we not afford this when hunger costs Texas $9 billion a year! Senator Murray further explains that this item is budget neutral when it is paid for by closing a tax loophole.



Read the bill here.