Después de que los votantes de Colorado aprobaran el año pasado una medida para ofrecer comidas gratuitas a todos los alumnos de escuelas públicas, independientemente de su capacidad de pago, unos 41 grupos comunitarios de todo el estado están trabajando para apoyar y promover el nuevo programa en comunidades de difícil acceso.

Rachel Landis dirige Good Food Collective, que trabaja en la región de Four Corners. Dice que las comidas escolares son una de las principales fuentes de calorías y nutrición para una gran parte de los estudiantes.

"Al invertir en comidas escolares más saludables -y luego en el acceso universal a las mismas- nos aseguramos de que los estudiantes puedan tener una nutrición que les permita aprender, tener éxito," asegura Landis, "y, en última instancia, alcanzar su máximo potencial como residentes de Colorado."

Colorado Access Foundation y Colorado Health Foundation han comprometido conjuntamente $1.5 millones de dólares para promover los beneficios de la nueva iniciativa estatal Comidas Escolares Saludables para Todos. Las familias ya no tienen que inscribirse para recibir comidas gratuitas, pero los grupos están ayudando a los padres a rellenar las solicitudes de beneficios que pueden ayudar a las escuelas a obtener fondos adicionales. Están animando a los padres a unirse a juntas locales para ayudar a configurar los menús escolares de sus hijos.

El nuevo programa también espera que sea un impulso para los agricultores independientes de Colorado. El juez Onwordi del Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, dice que, a partir del próximo año, las escuelas que opten por participar podrán aprovechar los diez millones de dólares disponibles para comprar alimentos ricos en nutrientes de origen local.

"También intentamos trabajar con las escuelas para entablar relaciones con los productores locales, de modo que cuando haya fondos disponibles, más escuelas se animen a utilizarlos," explica Onwordi. "Así pueden ofrecer más cocina casera en sus escuelas, y asegurarse de que tienen más alimentos frescos para los estudiantes."

Landis afirma que las escuelas también están encontrando formas creativas de disipar el estigma asociado con frecuencia a la comida de cafetería. Señala el éxito de una granja hidropónica en una escuela secundaria de Durango donde, como parte del plan de estudios de ciencias, los alumnos comen lo que cultivan.

"La escuela secundaria acaba de aprender eso, dice Landis. "Luego, en el vecino condado de Montezuma, hay un programa de la escuela a la granja que está formando a la próxima generación de agricultores, y parte de esa comida acaba en los comedores."

Alabama is one of 14 states opting out of the 2024 summer electronic benefit program.

As summer rolls around, there will be no programs in place to help low-income families with grocery costs.

LaTrell Clifford Wood, hunger policy advocate for the group Alabama Arise, said as a result, more than 500,000 children who usually receive free or reduced lunch could go without meals. She noted while summer feeding programs will be available, they will not reach everyone in need.

"Ninety-four percent of Alabama children who rely on free and reduced-price meals won't have access to them over the summer," Clifford Wood reported. "That means that only 6% of the children who rely on those meals during the school year are going to be fed through summer feeding programs."

Clifford Wood warned limited hours, transportation and strict program rules will hinder many families from benefiting from such vital programs. The Alabama Legislature did not allocate the necessary $15 million for the program by the end of the last session. However, Clifford Wood noted there is a chance the program will be funded in the summer of 2025.

As legislators focus on next year's budgets, Clifford Wood stressed the need for funding next summer's EBT program. She pointed out Alabama Arise is calling for lawmakers to allocate funds from the Education Trust Fund to combat child hunger, affecting one in four children in the state.

"This is a program that's been tested for 13 years," Clifford Wood emphasized. "It's had three rigorous evaluation periods, and it was shown to improve the diet of children and decrease children's food hardship by a third."

Clifford Wood believes prioritizing children's needs and addressing food insecurity is a form of preventive care and serves as an early investment in the state's overall wellness.

The Food Research and Action Center said funding the e-benefits program would also benefit the economy - adding anywhere from $98 million to $117 million. The Alabama Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee is expected to vote on the budget next week.

California's program helping low-income families buy fresh fruit and vegetables is on the chopping block and health care advocates are asking legislators to save the Market Match program.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting most of the program's $35 million budget to help close the state's budget shortfall.

Sophia Vaccaro, a participant in Market Match from Echo Park, said she depends on Market Match in more ways than one.

"It helps people being able to stretch their budget further," Vaccaro explained. "Then, I think it helps the community, in that it creates a sense of camaraderie at the farmers' market and makes people more invested in the community itself."

The program matches every dollar CalFresh customers spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmer's market up to between $10 and $20 per day. It is active at 294 sites across the state and is partially paid for through federal matching funds.

Dr. John Maa, surgeon at Marin Health Medical Center and board member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Heart Association, said Market Match promotes healthy eating and boosts the local farm economy.

"An improved diet really will have long-term meaningful impacts on health, and also reduce health care costs," Maa explained. "It really helps to sustain the growers and the merchants. I guess it's a win-win-win."

Siu Han Cheung, outreach coordinator for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and board member of the Heart of the City Farmers' Market, argued the program is vital to residents across the state.

"If the Market Match will be cut, that is terrible," Cheung stressed. "That means they have less money to buy their food. So, Market Match is very important for the low-income families and the seniors."

Legislators and the governor are working toward the May budget revisions, and must pass a balanced budget by June 15.

South Dakotans face high prices at the grocery store and some are working to ease the burden.

A new report from the Federal Trade Commission finds some grocery retailers used the supply-chain disruptions of the pandemic to raise prices and collect bigger profits, even after supply chains regulated.

One South Dakota group is trying to reduce sticker shock by targeting the state sales tax on groceries. Dakotans for Health is sponsoring a citizens ballot initiative to repeal the 4.2 % tax.

Rick Weiland, co-founder of the group, said lower food bills would make a meaningful difference for some.

"People of modest means, or low income hardworking families, disproportionately spend upwards of 30% on food," Weiland pointed out. "This is going to be helpful."

South Dakota is one of only two states in the country to apply its full state sales tax rate to groceries with no exemptions, Mississippi being the other. More than 9% of South Dakotans are considered food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to enough healthy food.

The grocery tax has been a popular topic among state legislators in recent years. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem even campaigned on the promise to repeal it. Critics have said proposing a tax cut without a way to finance it is irresponsible.

Weiland pointed out Gov. Noem had a formula spelled out when she brought forward her bill in 2023, which was voted down.

"She had no problem defending her position in front of the Legislature, in terms of how much revenue the state was going to lose and where they could make it up," Weiland recounted.

The initiative needs about 17,500 signatures by next month to appear on the November ballot.