Senators Kim, Heinrich Introduce Legislation to Give Hungry Military Children Access to School Meal Assistance Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In recognition of September being Hunger Action Month, Senators Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act to combat hunger among military families and ensure military children are no longer excluded from school meal assistance programs. “No child in our country should go hungry, but right now, red tape is preventing many military children from getting nutritious breakfast and lunch at school. While they’d otherwise be eligible for school meal programs, these kids are unfairly being penalized because their parent serves in uniform. This is a simple but critically important fix, and just one of many actions we need to take to fully tackle hunger amongst servicemembers and their loved ones,” said Senator Kim. “Military families sacrifice enough for our country — they should not have to worry about their children accessing school meals.” said Senator Heinrich. “Our Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act will cut through that red tape and make sure military kids in New Mexico and across the country can get healthy meals at school, so they can focus on learning, growing, and being kids.” The legislation was previously introduced in the House by Representatives Mike Levin (D-CA-49) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA-7). “The men and women who risk their lives for our country should never struggle to feed their children,” said Rep. Levin. “Though there is much more we must do to improve the financial well-being of service members, this is an important step towards ensuring military families based at Camp Pendleton in my district and across the country can focus on executing their mission rather than on where their families will find the next meal. I’m grateful to Senator Kim and Senator Heinrich for introducing this legislation in the Senate and partnering with us to help more military families access the school meals their children need.” Congressman Mackenzie’s quote: “No children of servicemembers should lose access to school meals because of how housing benefits are counted,” said Rep. Mackenzie. “Military families already sacrifice for their country, and while Congress has passed a nearly 4% pay increase for servicemembers, factors like family size, geographic location, and housing costs mean some families still need additional support. That’s why I’m proud to work with Congressman Levin to support bipartisan, commonsense changes that better serve military dependents and ensure kids can focus on learning, not hunger. I appreciate Senators Kim and Heinrich joining this bipartisan effort and helping move this commonsense solution forward in the Senate. Despite the extraordinary sacrifices that servicemembers and their families make, many still struggle to put food on the table. Studies conducted by the Department of Defense have found that approximately one-in-four active-duty servicemembers experience food insecurity, while military family surveys continue to report elevated risks of food insecurity among military households. Despite this need, many military children are unable to access free and reduced-priced school meals because their family’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is counted as income when determining eligibility. The Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act would make sure military families are not unfairly excluded from school meal programs by excluding BAH from income calculations used to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals. Specifically, this legislation would: Exclude BAH from income calculation for military families’ eligibility in free and reduced-price meals provided under the National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. Require the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility and cost of creating a program to directly certify military children for free and reduced-price school meal programs, including breakfast and lunch. The legislation is endorsed by AMVETS, Alliance to End Hunger, Food Research Action Center, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, National Education Association, National Military Family Association, Hunger Free America, National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, San Diego Hunger Coalition, Service Women’s Action Network, School Superintendents Association, and TREA: The Enlisted Association. “The Military service members dedicate their lives to protect our country.  We cannot expect service members to maintain mission readiness if they are concerned about their families’ basic needs. The Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act allows them to know their children are well fed while at school. It gives them one less thing to think about so they can concentrate on the task at hand,” said Andrew Zuckerman, Superintendent, Northern Burlington County Regional Schools. “Children can’t be expected to learn if they’re hungry,” said Besa Pinchotti, CEO of the National Military Family Association. “The National School Lunch Program exists to ensure that children receive the balanced meals they need to succeed in school, even when families face financial strain. Military families should not be penalized by counting housing allowances as income. We thank Senator Andy Kim for introducing the Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act, which would remove unnecessary barriers and help ensure military-connected children have access to school meals.” “Military-connected students and their families make important sacrifices in support of our country, and they should not face unnecessary barriers to accessing the resources they need to thrive. This legislation will help ensure that a service member’s basic allowance for housing does not inadvertently prevent their children from qualifying for free or reduced-price school meals. NAFIS thanks Senators Kim and Heinrich and Representatives Levin and Mackenzie for their leadership on this important issue. We are proud to support this legislation and efforts to strengthen support for federally connected students and the school districts that serve them,” said Cherise Imai, Executive Director, National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS). This legislation builds on Senator Kim’s ongoing work to end hunger, including previously introducing his Summer Meals REACH Act to end summer hunger, introducing the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act alongside Senator Heinrich, and joining Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and 17 other Senators in introducing the Universal School Meals Program Act which would offer free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack to every student in America. ###