Federal Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and others urged the public Tuesday to lobby Georgia officials to maintain and expand summer food programs for schoolkids.
Such programs started or grew tremendously during COVID-19 lockdowns, but have remained as a way to assure children get nutritious meals year-round. They’re operated largely through school systems, and the USDA reimburses the meal providers.
Complementing the meal program is a “summer EBT” program, which gives qualifying families cards worth $40 per month for each student.
“Thirty-five states, the District of Columbia, all the territories and four (Native American) tribes have agreed to participate fully and completely in a summer meal program,” Vilsack said.
But Georgia is not one of those states.
Vilsack said Gov. Brian Kemp has expressed concern that no nutrition guidelines are attached to the food programs, but the USDA has 10 years of results from a pilot program that shows the programs give kids more access to fruits and vegetables, and more nutritious food in general, he said.
Agreeing to expand the summer food programs would serve 1.1 million Georgia students, and bring in $138 million in federal dollars, Vilsack said. That money would circulate through the supply chain, aiding local farmers and supporting jobs as well, he said.
“It’s not just about nutrition for kids,” Vilsack said.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
He and Williams were part of a 13-member panel discussing school nutrition Tuesday afternoon in the cafeteria of Tri-Cities High School in East Point. Vilsack was in town to promote the Biden administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which seeks to end hunger and increase healthy eating by 2030.
Schools are at the center of efforts to improve young people’s nutrition, Vilsack said.
State Rep. Carl Gilliard, D-162, said he plans to introduce a bill in the General Assembly, dubbed the “Leave No Georgia Child Behind” bill, to offer wraparound services and summer food access for children. People in often-poor rural areas depend on school lunches for good meals, he said.
Gilliard urged people to lobby state officials in support of his bill.
East Point Mayor Deanna Holiday Ingraham and other panelists called for the USDA to increase its reimbursement rate for school meals. Wright said Fulton schools serve 13 million meals a year, but food costs are rising fast and the current reimbursement rate is inadequate. Additional USDA grants have covered that gap, but if those run out, school districts across the country will face a deficit, she said.
Another aspect of USDA policy that panelists praised and promoted is the “farm-to-school program,” which buys food from Georgia farms for school cafeterias and teaches students about farming.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
Georgia gets a $7.1 million federal grant to source school foods locally, making those a major part of school lunches statewide, Dodson said.
Larry Stewart, chief marketing officer for Hunter Cattle of Brooklet, said his family beef farm has partnered with three county school districts so far. Those don’t include Fulton County.
“Words can’t encapsulate how beneficial this local-food-to-school program has been for our farm,” he said. Restaurants and stores may go out of business or change suppliers, but consistent orders from school districts allow his farm to keep workers employed all year, pay them more, and make bigger investments in the farm itself, Stewart said.
Vilsack is to deliver the keynote speech Wednesday morning at the grand opening of LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels in Soperton, the world’s first facility dedicated to producing aviation fuel from renewable ethanol.
About the Author
