Contact: Johanna Elsemore at jelsemore@strength.org
TALLAHASSEE, FL: The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) today announced $93 million in emergency relief funding to support Florida schools impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal funding will provide relief to school nutrition departments, which lost an estimated $262 million due to COVID-19 in the 2020 school year alone. The following is a statement from No Kid Hungry Florida Director Sky Beard:
“COVID-19 was economically devastating for families across Florida, leading to a big uptick in poverty and hunger. Had it not been for school nutrition programs providing safe, convenient meals at no cost to children, even more kids would have suffered the consequences of missed nutrition.
“Yet at the same time, school nutrition departments saw a devastating hit to their budgets. We applaud FDACS on this critical investment to assist in their financial recovery and ensure that when school starts back up this fall, they can keep building on what’s worked. As our state continues to rebuild, robust support for school nutrition programs and the dedicated food service staff working around the clock to mitigate food insecurity in our communities is critical to an equitable recovery.”