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Letter to The Hon. Sonny Perdue Secretary U.S. Department of Agriculture - Congressman Cleaver Calls on Usda to Provide More Flexibility, Support to Student Nutrition Programs

Letter

By: Emanuel Cleaver II, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Cheri Bustos, Joaquin Castro, David Cicilline, Yvette Clarke, Steve Cohen, Angie Craig, Adriano Espaillat, Ruben Gallego, Marcy Kaptur, Ron Kind, Annie Kuster, Rick Larsen, Alan Lowenthal, Carolyn Maloney, Joe Morelle, Jerry Nadler, Grace Napolitano, Frank Pallone, Jr., Chris Pappas, Ayanna Pressley, Bobby Rush, Donna Shalala, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Filemon Vela, Jr., Ilhan Omar, Chellie Pingree, Tony Cárdenas, Judy Chu, T.J. Cox, Peter DeFazio, Rosa DeLauro, Veronica Escobar, Anna Eshoo, Lois Frankel, Marcia Fudge, John Garamendi, Sylvia Garcia, Raul Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Eddie Johnson, Joe Kennedy III, Andy Kim, Al Lawson, Jr., Barbara Lee, Doris Matsui, Gwen Moore, Seth Moulton, Jimmy Panetta, Stacey Plaskett, Mark Pocan, Harley Rouda, Kim Schrier, David Scott, Haley Stevens, Bennie Thompson, David Trone, Juan Vargas, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jennifer Wexton, Susan Wild, Frederica Wilson, John Yarmuth, Alma Adams, Cindy Axne, Karen Bass, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Brendan Boyle, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Jim Cooper, Jim Costa, Susan Davis, Madeleine Dean, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Bill Foster, Chuy Garcia, Jimmy Gomez, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Jahana Hayes, Jared Huffman, Hank Johnson, Jr., Ro Khanna, Ann Kirkpatrick, John Larson, Susie Lee, Andy Levin, Mike Levin, Jim McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Tim Ryan, Linda Sánchez, Mary Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, José Serrano, Abigail Spanberger, Mark Takano, Stephen Lynch, Sean Maloney, Betty McCollum, Eleanor Norton, Tom O'Halleran, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ed Perlmutter, David Price, Dutch Ruppersberger, Bobby Scott, Adam Smith, Dina Titus, Lori Trahan, Lauren Underwood, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Peter Welch
Date: Aug. 7, 2020
Location: Chicago, IL
Issues: Minors and Children Education

Dear Secretary Perdue:

The undersigned members of the House of Representatives urge the Department of Agriculture
(Department) to act swiftly to ensure children have access to nutritious food during these
difficult economic times. Specifically, we urge the Department to renew waivers to enable the
implementation of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option
(SSO) and to waive the Area Eligibility Requirement during the entirety of school year 2020-
2021.
As you know, Congress authorized the use of these waivers in the Families First Coronavirus
Response Act.1 Schools and non-profit partners across the country have utilized these waivers to
continue providing meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The flexibility to operate
SFSP and SSO is essential for schools to continue serving children when school buildings are not
accessible, which will continue to be the case in many parts of the country during the coming
school year. These waivers also provide critical administrative relief for already over-burdened
school staff and facilitate the implementation of health and safety measures by limiting the
contact required during meal service.
Simply put, without these flexibilities, some schools will be unable to continue providing meals
for students next year.
In March and April 2020, approximately one in four adults ages 18-64 with children younger
than 19 reported food insecurity in their household during the previous month.2 Rates of food
insecurity are significantly higher in Black households, with approximately 37 percent of Black
households with children reporting food insecurity in March and April 2020 compared
to approximately 18 percent of white households.3
It is unconscionable that the Department
would fail to utilize all of its available authority to ensure that children can continue to receive
the nutritious meals they need to learn next year.
We therefore urge your swift action to extend these waivers in the school meal programs. Please
contact Maria Martirosyan at Maria.Martirosyan@mail.house.gov with any questions. Thank
you for your attention this urgent matter, and we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,


Source
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