Advocate to Protect School Meals
RELEASED BY THE NATIONAL FARM TO SCHOOL NETWORK ON MAY 5, 2025On April 29, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed their portion of a Congressional vehicle that would make sweeping cuts and changes to government programs. The Committee had been instructed to create $330 billion in cuts as part of a proposed $1.5 billion reduction in programs.
The good news: The Ed and Workforce Committee draft did not include any changes to school meals. Previously floated proposals would have drastically undermined the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), required burdensome additional income verification, and endangered the streamlined direct certification that identifies families who are already participating in means-tested programs. Your voice, speaking up to let Congress know how crucial CEP is, helped keep these cuts off the table. Thank you for taking action!
TAKE ACTION: If your Representative is a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, please reach out to thank them today!
What’s next: This week, the House Agriculture Committee will meet to consider potential cuts in their portfolio, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Because SNAP and Medicaid participation are integral to how Community Eligibility is calculated for districts, major changes that kick families off the programs will have an impact on CEP participation – and access to meals for the whole school. Similarly, the Senate Agriculture Committee will also meet to consider changes to agriculture and nutrition programs. It’s important they hear this message to keep nutrition programs strong overall, and to reject the overly sweeping cuts that would endanger kids and producers. For a final bill to pass, the House and Senate will have to agree on a single overall bill with the details ironed out – so they need to be hearing about how these numbers on paper affect the real lives of the people they represent.
What you can do:
- Thank your Ed and Workforce members for keeping school meal cuts out of their draft!
- If you have a Committee member on House Ag or Senate Ag, now is a crucial time to tell your stories with them.
- Even if your members are not on these Committees, you should keep communicating your concerns about major reductions and changes to the programs supporting children and families during such a time of uncertainty. Many bills pass or fail by only a handful of votes, so each Representative or Senator can make a difference.
- Use NFSN's action alert to reach out to your Senator!
- Help us communicate about the issues by learning, sharing your story with those in your network