Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., is pushing to extend pandemic waivers set to expire June 30 that allow schools to provide universal free meals to children, regardless of income, as part of a COVID-19 funding bill that could be combined with a separate Ukraine aid package.
“I believe strongly that we need to get a vote on … COVID help for our children, for summer feeding programs and the school year,” Stabenow said Thursday.
In addition to expanding free school meals to all students, the Agriculture Department waivers have provided higher per-meal reimbursement and allowed flexibility on how and where meals are served.
