[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 101 (Thursday, June 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4029-S4030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Child Nutrition

  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, across the country, the school year is 
winding down, and students will be on summer

[[Page S4030]]

break. We know that when school is out, many students who receive free 
and reduced-price meals throughout the school year are not getting the 
nutrition that they need.
  The pandemic required us to explore innovative options for getting 
food and nutrition, for getting that assistance to children in need, 
especially those who were in rural and hard-to-serve areas. That is why 
I, along with Senator Leahy, have reintroduced the Hunger-Free Summer 
for Kids Act.
  I am pleased that we have 12 bipartisan cosponsors and the support of 
national organizations like Feeding America, Share Our Strength, Tusk 
Philanthropies, Bread for the World, the Alliance to End Hunger, MAZON: 
A Jewish Response to Hunger, and Save the Children.
  When I served as a school board member many years ago, I saw how 
important the national school meals program is to providing many 
children with healthy meals, helping them to learn and grow. I also saw 
that many kids were left without nutritious food during the summer 
months.
  Seeing this reality is, in part, why I wanted to serve as cochair of 
the Senate Hunger Caucus. It is the reason why I care about these 
programs, ensuring we have a bipartisan child nutrition reauthorization 
process that can include this bill that Senator Leahy and I are 
introducing.
  Before the pandemic, we had data that showed the traditional Summer 
Food Service Program was not serving all of the kids who needed these 
meals. Only one in seven children receiving free or reduced-price meals 
during the school year were receiving meals from the current Summer 
Meals Program.
  Big gaps exist, especially in rural areas. According to Feeding 
America, 86 percent of counties with children most at risk for food 
insecurity are rural counties.
  The current program requires children to come to a feeding site and 
eat their meals with other children. This concept has its benefits, as 
it builds a sense of community, provides a safe place for kids to go, 
and then offers them a chance to participate in other physical and 
enrichment activities.
  However, we know that getting kids to a feeding site can be a real 
challenge. Buses take students to school, but the buses don't run in 
the summer.

  During the pandemic, Congress gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
the authority to waive the requirement that kids had to eat meals 
together at feeding sites. This flexibility has spurred innovation with 
public-private partnerships. For instance, in my home State of 
Arkansas, Faulkner County did a tremendous job packing meal boxes to be 
sent home to families. Volunteers have delivered meals through mobile 
delivery routes. Thanks to the Meals to You program that was 
coordinated by the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, more 
than 1.1 million meals were delivered directly to the doorstep of 
almost 9,000 children living in rural Arkansas.
  According to Share Our Strength, there was a 160-percent increase in 
the number of meals served by allowing offsite consumption of meals.
  Another way to ensure kids are receiving access to food is through 
the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer Program. Each child receives a 
set amount of money that is loaded onto an EBT card. Families then can 
shop for food to make sure their kids get the nutrition they need. This 
program has been tested for a number of years by the USDA. The results 
have shown that providing a $30 monthly benefit for a child was 
effective in reducing the most severe category of food insecurity 
during the summer and can lead to positive changes in children's 
nutritional outcomes through the consumption of healthier foods.
  This bill expands how we ensure children receive healthy meals 
throughout the summer.
  The pandemic has certainly shown the importance and the success of 
this program when offsite consumption and EBT are options States can 
utilize to feed children.
  I want to commend the volunteers and staff on the frontlines who are 
there each and every day ensuring that children receive the nutrition 
they need. They work tirelessly, being true heroes to so many families 
during the pandemic. I thank them for their hard work, their 
innovation, and their dedication.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the weeks and months 
ahead to see this bill become part of a permanent, bipartisan child 
nutrition reauthorization law. It is important that members of the Ag 
Committee work together in a bipartisan manner, through regular order, 
agreeing on the policy and the offsets that will be required to provide 
schools, States, and families greater certainty into the future. I am 
committed to a bipartisan path forward, and this bill is just the 
beginning.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah