Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act Aims to Help More Arkansas Children in Need

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) is applying lessons learned from the pandemic as he leads efforts to modernize existing federal child nutrition programs. The Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act would increase flexibility for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Summer Food Service Program, which offers children free lunches and snacks in the summer, allowing more kids in need the ability to participate.

The bill provides states additional options to reach hungry children in communities without a centralized feeding site during the summer, some of which mirror authorities Congress established to help the USDA carry out this mission while students were learning virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The flexibilities Congress granted during the pandemic offer a good recipe for how to successfully serve more children in need. We want to ensure that all options—from off-site, grab-and-go models, to home delivery, to electronic benefits transfer—remain on the table,” Boozman, lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said.