FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | May 14, 2020
Contact: Jessica Ng | jng@mercuryllc.com
Sacramento, CA – No Kid Hungry California Director Kathy Saile today issued the following statement regarding California Governor Gavin Newsom’s state budget revision, which withdraws his January proposal to increase funding for school nutrition programs by $70 million:
“California’s public health crisis is already becoming an economic crisis, and we recognize the challenges the state now faces in closing an unprecedented budget deficit. That said, given the extraordinary need that families are experiencing, we continue to urge Governor Newsom and the Legislature to prioritize food access for vulnerable families and their children. In particular, many schools that have been on the frontline of serving meals to children during this crisis have exhausted their nutrition budgets and need additional support to continue operations and make critical investments, such as securing personal protective equipment for staff serving meals. We look forward to continuing to work with state leaders to identify available state and federal funding for school nutrition departments as part of the broader COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.”
No Kid Hungry has developed a new resource – Supporting Schools, Communities, and Nutrition Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommended State Policy Actions – that lists some options available to state policymakers to unlock the potential of federal and state food and nutrition programs and ensure that families and children have the support they need. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the campaign has provided more than $1.5 million in emergency grants to 56 school districts, food banks, and community organizations in California that are finding new, innovative ways to provide free meals to children and families safely during this crisis. Nationally, No Kid Hungry has sent more $13.3 million in emergency grants to 569 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. With the help of this funding, programs plan to serve an estimated 8.5 million meals a day during this crisis.
No Kid Hungry is also urging Congress to increase SNAP benefits to help families across the nation weather this crisis while also stimulating the economy. On April 24, No Kid Hungry and its partners sent a letter to USDA Secretary Perdue urging the Department to use authority provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to extend nationwide and state-requested waivers from child nutrition program requirements through September 30, 2020. Extending these flexibilities right now is essential since sponsors of summer meal programs need clarity to plan operations and meet approaching program participation deadlines.