Eight states offer all students, regardless of household income, free school meals — and more states are trending in the direction.
But while people across the country move to feed school children, congressional Republicans are looking to stop the cause.
The budget — co-signed by more than 170 House Republicans — calls to eliminate “the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) from the School Lunch Program.”
The CEP, the Republicans note, “allows certain schools to provide free school lunches regardless of the individual eligibility of each student.”.
The CEP allows schools and districts in low-income areas to provide breakfast and lunch to all students, free of charge.
Republicans have worked for years to undermine school lunch programs, but the staying focus on the goal, even in rhetoric, is notable given the warm reception some states have received in instituting universal school lunch.
Nevada, meanwhile, used leftover Covid-19 relief funding to offer one more year of free school meals to all students through this school year. »
