Providing meals to hungry students is as important as access to distance learning [edsource.org]

By Camila Barbour, EdSource, September 9, 2020

As a community school manager in Oakland, where I coordinate student support services to increase opportunities for learning, I’m always especially attuned to the trauma that students in my school carry on a daily basis — and to how that burden is even heavier when they come to school hungry. There is an urgent need to ensure these kids get the school meals they rely on.

Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced an extension through Dec. 31 of the federal waivers that give schools the regulatory flexibility to continue serving meals to everyone under age 18 and increase food assistance benefits for struggling families, it is not enough.

Californians must tell Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend these waivers for the entire school year. And Californians also must tell the state of California to provide resources to school districts for the additional costs accrued providing meals in these challenging circumstances. A short-term measure creates uncertainty for parents and does not allow school districts to do the advanced planning and budgeting necessary to reach the unprecedented number of kids in need.

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