“Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a conversation. It’d be like asking kids to pay for the school bus every morning”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, held a hearing titled “Keeping Kids Learning in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.” The hearing focused on legislative solutions to eliminate student meal debt; reduce the stigma associated with free school meals; and expand access to free, nutritious meals for all students. Four of the five witnesses were Pennsylvanians. In his opening remarks, Senator Fetterman pointed out how absurd it is that a hearing on providing free meals to students is even necessary.
“It should be simple. School lunch should always be free – and definitely free from judgement,” said Senator Fetterman. “Honestly this shouldn’t even be a conversation. It’d be like asking kids to pay for the school bus every morning.”
Senator Fetterman also highlighted the problem of school lunch debt, saying that “‘school lunch debt’ is a phrase so absurd it shouldn’t even exist.”
Under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, the USDA subsidizes meals for low-income students, but gaps remain. The national public school meal debt stands at $262 million annually, with nearly $80 million owed in Pennsylvania alone. This debt accumulates when children who cannot afford to pay for their meals receive them with the expectation that they will pay later.
The witnesses included Crystal FitzSimons, Interim President, Food Research & Action Center; Russell Redding, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Pa.; Nichole Taylor, Director of Food and Nutrition, Chichester School District, Upper Chichester, Pa.; Kay Swartz Rentzel, Executive Director, Southeastern Food Processors Association, National Peach Council, and U.S. Sweet Potato Council, Dillsburg, Pa.; Dr. Meg Bruening, Professor and Department Head, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Senator Fetterman emphasized the need to eliminate stigma so all children can access nutritious food without shame or financial burden. Ms. Nichole Taylor testified that some students avoid the cafeteria or pull out of the meal subsidy program, choosing to go hungry rather than face the embarrassment of receiving a free meal.
Ms. Crystal FitzSimons highlighted the benefits of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which helps schools in high-need areas to offer free meals to all students. She explained that as more schools adopt CEP, they are seeing increasing benefits, including higher student participation in school mealtime, less administrative burden, the elimination of unpaid meal debts, reduced stigma, and a better overall school atmosphere.
Secretary Russell Redding discussed Pennsylvania’s initiative to provide universal free breakfasts, noting increased participation rates.
Food security is one of Senator Fetterman’s top legislative priorities. In June, he was one of only four Democrats to vote against the debt limit bill, explicitly because it imposed restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. He has remained firm that he will block the Farm Bill if it does not include strong protections for SNAP. Supporting the debt limit bill could have weakened his leverage in negotiations over the Farm Bill, which is why he voted against it.
Senator Fetterman has introduced the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act,which would direct the USDA to pay all debts owed to schools for lunch or breakfast programs. This bill aims to eliminate the stigma and financial strain associated with student meal debt. He has also joined Senator Casey (D-PA) to introduce the School Hunger Elimination Act and the Nutrition Red Tape Reduction Act, aiming to expand access to free and reduced-price meals for millions of students.
A full recording of the hearing is available here.
