Federal pandemic waivers took a bite out of child hunger, according to census data, and there are concerns those trends could be reversed when the waivers expire in June.

The policies improved access to school meals through universal free lunch, additional emergency funds for EBT cards, and by giving districts the flexibility to feed kids through mobile delivery and backpack programs.

Katherine Unger, a policy associate with the Children's Defense Fund of Ohio, said more meals were provided to more families during a time of significant need.

"The end of these waivers, in combination with the end of other supports that have helped families meet their basic needs, is just going to put more strain on Ohio families' budgets," she said, "and this comes especially at a time when we are met with rising food costs, rising gas prices."

Census data found that food insecurity among financially insecure households with kids dropped 33% between April 2020 and July 2021. A new bipartisan Senate bill would extend the waivers for another year, after lawmakers didn't do so in the most recent federal spending bill.

Congress also failed to extend advance Child Tax Credit payments after December, which Kimberly LoVano, director of advocacy and public education with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, said helped families put food on the table.

"The Child Tax Credit was not designed to be a nutrition program, but that is simply what it became," she said ."About 60% of lower-income families used the benefit to purchase groceries, and more than 90% of families used the benefit to pay for things like utilities, rent, clothing, education."

Demand hasn't slowed at food banks and pantries in Ohio and is expected to pick up as inflation rises. LoVano said they're not receiving the federal support needed in the wake of increased costs and supply-chain issues. She called it a perfect storm.

"Without these waivers being extended, and without Congress authorizing additional dollars for food banks to give out emergency food," she said, "we're just going to see a situation this summer where there just aren't as many resources for us to get food out, which really worries us."

President Joe Biden's Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal calls for $519 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program, $38 million more than last year.

Rising grocery prices and the end of pandemic-era benefits have left many Virginia families struggling to make ends meet.

A recent poll from No Kid Hungry Virginia highlighted the growing crisis. Among respondents, 78% said groceries have become more challenging to afford over the past year, and 77% of families are just one unexpected expense away from hunger.

Cassie Edner, public benefits attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said she is not surprised by the poll results.

"The cost of food, over the last how many years have been significantly increasing along with the cost of other things, rent, mortgages, things like that," Edner outlined. "Unfortunately, it makes sense that people are not able to afford their most basic necessities like food."

Virginia's low-income families saw significant relief during the pandemic from programs like the expanded federal Child Tax Credit, which, according to the Food Research and Action Center, reduced hunger among children by nearly one-third. However, with the expiration of the emergency measures, many families are once again vulnerable.

Edner noted potential solutions could include expanding SNAP benefits and the state-level Child Tax Credit. She is a long time advocate of a bill to provide healthy school meals but is looking at other tactics in the upcoming legislative session.

"There's a bill that would expand it to breakfast for all," Edner observed. "More kids would get breakfast in the morning, and that's one less expense that parents would have to worry about."

The survey also found many parents feel the mental strain of food insecurity. The Virginia Poverty Law Center provides resources like a SNAP calculator to help families determine their eligibility for benefits, and advocates hope the upcoming General Assembly session will prioritize policies addressing food insecurity.


get more stories like this via email

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collaboration

On a school lunch menu in rural Goshen, Indiana, is pizza, caprese sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, and tater tot casserole. 

It may seem like nothing special (save maybe the Midwestern flare), except it is. Some of those very ingredients are grown and sourced by students just outside the cafeteria walls. 

With the help of a USDA grant, Bethany Christian Schools has grown its farm-to-school (rather, farm-at-school) program to include a greenhouse, garden beds, a 13-head chicken coop, and pear trees. It exists in large part thanks to Tara Swarzendruber, the K-12’s food services and farm-to-school director. 

“We’re working to give [students] more tactile experiences,” particularly among younger students, she says. “A lot of them, you know, spend a lot of time on iPads and screens … But this is a very physical experience of experiencing a food, a new food. And then the next week we’ll have it in the cafeteria for them to try there too.”

That experience looks like tending to the gardens and caring for chickens. Some students save seeds to replant; others lay down newspaper and grass clippings to prevent weeds.

Picking peppers, harvesting spinach and lettuce, going to butcher chickens once a year—it’s all in the curriculum. And for good reason, science teacher Amy Thut says.

She once overheard a student say going out into the garden relieves her anxiety. Another was inspired to plant tomatoes at home, meticulously watching them grow. They learn about food systems and how everything is connected.

“Spending time outdoors smelling the fragrant basil plants, feeling the wet soil, listening to insects chirping, seeing butterflies or earthworms, and tasting tomatoes or hot peppers is a full sensory experience,” Thut says. 

“Students benefit academically, socially, and emotionally from this time outdoors.” 

According to the South Dakota State University Extension, benefits of farm-to-school programs on students and staff include: grade and test score improvements, healthier food choices, more food system knowledge, better self-esteem and morale, and hands-on/experimental teaching and learning. 

In the spring, Thut works with her high school environmental science students to plant garden beds. Think cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers, which are simple for cafeteria staff to get on plates, she says. 

In the summer, a high school student (with the help of grounds staff) will water and weed the gardens, keeping bellies full through October. Then it’s time for the “fresh cart” come wintertime: Buy a meal (or use a free or reduced lunch pass) and get unlimited access to fresh fruit and vegetables all day. On the cart, you might find pea and sunflower shoots grown by sixth graders. Or chive flowers, hand-cut by Swarzendruber. 

“My goal has always been, in the cafeteria and as we’ve been transforming [the program], that the educational experience for students doesn’t stop during the lunch period,” Swarzendruber says. 

Her pointers for schools, or even just families, looking to follow a similar model: Lean into what you’re excited about, if even just a little. Then, start small. 

That’s what Bethany Christian Schools did some dozen years ago: Take a handful of seeds and one small garden, and watch it all grow. 


Amy Felegy wrote this story for Arts Midwest.


get more stories like this via email

A North Dakota initiative that invites hunters to donate some of their deer meat to hunger relief sites has been in place for two decades now. Recent years have seen varying results but officials said there are new opportunities to help more households.

Sportsmen Against Hunger brings together hunters around the state willing to set aside of a portion of their game meat so struggling households have greater access to nutritious protein. Designated meat processors play a role in getting the product to local food shelves.

Holly Papineau, program director for the Community Action Partnership of North Dakota, which oversees the program, said demand for assistance remains high.

"Food pantries are already stretched thin," Papineau pointed out. "The benefits from the influx of donated venison reduces the reliance on costly grocery store purchases."

Papineau noted a positive they have seen is the record number of processors around the state joining the initiative. They're now up to 14 but still need help in the Williston region out west. Last year, 931 pounds of meat was donated, a drop compared to the previous year. Papineau warned it reflects the fluctuating numbers of hunting licenses sought each year, due to a variety of factors.

Wildlife diseases and waning interest among younger generations are often cited as reasons why fewer hunting licenses are being purchased. Papineau emphasized for those who still hunt, there is an opportunity to help those living nearby, because the meat processing network is pretty robust, keeping donations local.

"If it's donated in Fargo, it stays in Fargo, if it's donated in Dickinson, it stays in Dickinson," Papineau outlined.

Papineau stressed they keep food safety in mind by not accepting unauthorized game meat, not processed by a licensed shop. The program takes in deer, elk and moose meat but doesn't accept waterfowl, including geese.