{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5936", "ICYMI: Moore, Sanders, Omar, McGovern Lead More Than 100 Colleagues in Helping End Child Hunger Through Universal School Meals", "2026-05-18", "2026", "2026-05", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Gwen Moore", "M001160", "gwenmoore.house.gov", "gwenmoore", "https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Rep. Gwen Moore, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. McGovern introduced legislation to end child hunger in the United States. The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 would offer free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to every student in America \u2014 regardless of income \u2014 and eliminate school meal debt while incentivizing local food in schools.\n\n\u201cMillions of families already face hunger in this country. But with Republicans cutting SNAP and families struggling with the high cost of living, it is even more urgent that we pass the Universal School Meals Program Act,\u201d said Rep. Gwen Moore. Congress can and should help end child hunger, and I implore my colleagues to support this legislation.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is outrageous that, while the billionaire class has never had it so good, one in five children will go hungry in America this year,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThe United States is the richest country in the history of the world. Nobody should be going hungry. And what we learned during the pandemic is that a universal approach to school meals works and helps kids do better in school. States across the country continue to prove this every day. It is time for Congress to reinstate universal school meals at the national level to finally ensure no student goes hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo child should have to sit in a classroom hungry or worried about where their next meal will come from,\u201d Omar said. \u201cAs a former nutrition educator and someone who experienced hunger firsthand, this fight is deeply personal to me. I have always believed you must feed kids\u2019 bellies before you can feed their brains. That is why I am proud to partner again with Bernie Sanders to introduce the Universal School Meals Program Act, which would provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to students year-round. Universal school meals are not a luxury\u2014they are a necessity.\u201d\n\n\"School meals improve food security, health outcomes, and academic performance\u2014simply put, they help kids succeed. Several states\u2014including my home state of Massachusetts\u2014have permanently implemented free universal school meals, helping expand access to breakfasts and lunches for all students. It has been hugely successful in increasing participation, reducing stigma, and making life a little easier and more affordable for families,\u201d said Rep. James P. McGovern, Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee. \u201cIt is long past time we permanently implement universal school meals nationwide and increase reimbursement rates to ensure every student can go to school knowing they have two healthy meals to fuel their learning.\u201d\n\nThe Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 comes at a critical moment: the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have enacted the deepest cuts to federal nutrition programs in history, slashing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $186 billion, imposing harsh new bureaucratic requirements that have stripped food assistance from millions of Americans, and refusing to fund SNAP during the federal government shutdown in fall 2025.\n\nCongress funded universal school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, proving that the model increases school meal participation, reduces the stigma for students from low-income households and removes stress on families to secure healthy meals for their kids. While Congress let the universal model expire at the end of the 2021\u20132022 school year, nine states \u2014 Vermont, Minnesota, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico and New York \u2014 have passed laws to provide universal school meals. This legislation builds on this progress to return the model nationwide.\n\nAccording to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s most recent food security report \u2014 which the Trump administration has now ended \u2014 48 million Americans, including over 14 million children, are food insecure. Nearly 40% of SNAP recipients are 18 or younger. It is time to permanently make school meals free to all students, regardless of income, and finally address this crisis. Studies show time and again that students with free access to breakfast have improved attendance and better performance in school, and that free meals reduce financial stress for both students and families. Moreover, free and accessible school meals improve health outcomes, relieve the stigma associated with school meals and reduce behavioral incidents. Parents will not be forced to deal with paperwork or subjected to threats to have their children taken away.\n\nThe Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 provides the most cost-effective and inclusive model for students, families, teachers, public schools, childcare providers and communities by:\n\nProviding free breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack to every student \u2014 regardless of income.\n\nEliminating school meal debt for every public school student in America by reimbursing schools and ending harassment of parents and students over unpaid bills. In a 2025 survey, the School Nutrition Association found that nearly 1,400 school districts across the country hold a median of $6,000 in unpaid meal debt.\n\nIncreasing the reimbursement rate for schools to get closer to the actual cost of producing meals.\n\nIncentivizing schools to buy from local farms, bringing food from nearby farms into schools while supporting local economies.\n\nProviding summer meals to all children and increased SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) to lower-income children. Currently, only communities where 50% of children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch may operate a summer meals program. This bill makes all communities eligible, regardless of income.\n\nStrengthening and expanding the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to allow three meals and a snack each day, eliminate the two-tiered reimbursement rate for CACFP, and allow childcare providers to receive the highest reimbursement rate regardless of income.\n\nJoining Moore, Sanders and Omar as cosponsors on this legislation are Reps. Jim McGovern, Pete Aguilar, Gabe Amo, Yassamin Ansari, Jake Auchincloss, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragan, Joyce Beatty, Wesley Bell, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Nikki Budzinski, Andr\u00e9 Carson, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Judy Chu, Steve Cohen, Angie Craig, Suzan DelBene, Mark DeSaulnier, Maxine Dexter, Debbie Dingell, Dwight Evans, Laura Friedman, Maxwell Frost, John Garamendi, Sylvia Garcia, Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Gotteimer, Adelita Grijalva, Jared Huffman, Jonathan Jackson, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Jr., Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, John Larson, Summer Lee, Stephen F. Lynch, Seth Magaziner, Doris Matsui, Lucy McBath, Betty McCollum, Morgan McGarvey, LaMonica McIver, Christian Menefee, Grace Meng, Joseph Morelle, Seth Moulton, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Richard Neal, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Frank Pallone, Jr., Brittany Pettersen, Chellie Pingree, Stacey Plaskett, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Mike Quigley, Delia Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sanchez, Jan Schakowsky, Lateefah Simon, Adam Smith, Marilyn Strickland, Shri Thanedar, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Juan Vargas, Nydia Velazquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Frederica Wilson and 19 Senators.\n\nThe Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 is endorsed by nearly 100 organizations, including the American Heart Association, Food Research & Action Center, Hunger Free America, Hunger Free Vermont, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, National Education Association (NEA), National Family Farm Coalition, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, Vermont Afterschool, Vermont Foodbank, Washington Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition, and Washington School Nutrition Association.", 1, "2026-05-19T06:31:01Z", "2026-05-19T06:32:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5936"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0908220428973436, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}