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WASHINGTON 鈥� Amid persistent  in the United States, lawmakers and advocates on Wednesday stressed the importance of school meal programs during a U.S. Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing.

Hunger severely impacts  and can lead to negative outcomes in school, . Last year, 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households, according to the .

Federally funded efforts, such as the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, provide free and reduced-cost meals to students across the country.

Advocates say these programs play a crucial role in helping to reduce child hunger and urged the panel to expand them.

鈥淪chool lunch should always be free and definitely free of judgment,鈥� said Sen. John Fetterman, who chairs the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research.

鈥淗onestly, it shouldn鈥檛 be a conversation 鈥� it would be like asking the kids to pay for the school bus every morning or to pay for their own textbooks at school,鈥� Fetterman said.

Fetterman and fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. Bob Casey  in June aiming to expand free or reduced-price meals access for kids. Part of the initiatives also call for amending the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools and school districts in low-income areas to offer free meal options to all students.

Fetterman also sponsored the Universal School Meals Program Act, an effort introduced by  last May, which would 鈥減rovide free breakfast, lunch, and dinner to every student 鈥� without demanding they prove they are poor enough to deserve help getting three meals a day,鈥� according to Sanders鈥�  of the bill. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, introduced .

Subcommittee ranking member Mike Braun of Indiana said he introduced the  last July with Ohio Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in an effort 鈥渢o better prioritize and support the use of American food in school meal programs.鈥�

That bipartisan bill would increase requirements for school meals to include U.S. products.

States a model

Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research & Action Center, pointed out that eight states  that offer school meals to all students, regardless of one鈥檚 household income. Those states are California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont.

The national nonprofit aims to reduce poverty-related hunger in the U.S. through research, advocacy and policy solutions.

鈥淲hile those eight states are showing us what is possible, there are critical steps the subcommittee and Congress should take to enhance the reach and impact of school meals nationwide,鈥� FitzSimons said.

As one piece of the puzzle, FitzSimons said Congress can 鈥渆nsure that all children nationwide are hunger-free and ready to learn while they are at school by allowing all schools to offer meals to all their students at no charge鈥� and the Universal School Meals Program Act 鈥渃reates that path.鈥�

Meg Bruening, professor and department head at Pennsylvania State University鈥檚 Department of Nutritional Sciences, said 鈥渢he school meal programs in the U.S. provide a critical safety net for almost 30 million children with meals each year鈥� 鈥� comprising 60% of children in the country.

Bruening said these school meal programs align closely with the , 鈥渆nsuring a variety of healthy foods are offered to children while at school, where children spend most of their waking and eating hours.鈥�

The guidelines, developed by the USDA and the Health and Human Services Department, are .

Summer EBT

Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock underscored how child hunger increases in the summer months when kids lack access to regular meals at school.

Thirty-seven states, the District of Columbia and multiple territories and tribal nations opted in this year to a new effort, known as Summer EBT, to feed kids during the long summer months.

Also called Sun Bucks, the USDA initiative provides low-income families with school-aged children a grocery-buying benefit of $120 per child for the summer.

But 13 states,, chose not to participate in the program in 2024. The USDA said states have until Jan. 1 to submit a notice of intent if they plan to participate in the program next year. Iowa has to receive federal money for an alternative summer meal program.

Warnock said he hopes  on Summer EBT.

鈥淯nfortunately, my home state 鈥� the state of Georgia 鈥� has not opted in to Sun Bucks, with some officials saying it does not result in higher nutritional outcomes for students, and that existing programs are 鈥榚ffective,鈥欌�� he said.

鈥淚 heard our state leadership say: 鈥榃e don鈥檛 need it,鈥欌�� he added. 鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to figure out who this 鈥榳e鈥� is 鈥� for whom are you speaking when you say: 鈥榃e don鈥檛 need it?鈥欌��

A spokesperson for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has said the governor has concerns about the program鈥檚 dietary standards and cost.

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