Rep. Ilhan Omar Introduces the School Meals During School Closures Act

Bill is Co-Led by Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jahana Hayes

WASHINGTON—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) today introduced the School Meals during School Closures Act. The bill is co-led by Reps. Adam Schiff and Jahana Hayes. The bill would allow states or school districts to continue to provide free and subsidized meals during disruptions—including the recent spate of extreme weather events in Minnesota and the strikes in Los Angeles County. Along with hurricanes in Florida, wildfires in California, and emergency repairs, school closures jeopardize many students’ access to nutritious meals. This bill ensures that schools can continue to feed kids despite these disruptions.

The bill is cosponsored by Reps. Greg Landsman, Nydia M. Velázquez , Bonnie Watson Coleman , Pramila Jayapal, Andre Carson, Greg Casar, Sara Jacobs, Grace F. Napolitano, Jim McGovern , Troy Carter, Jasmine Crockett, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Robert Garcia, Seth Moulton, Glenn Ivey, Scott Peters, Dwight Evans , Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Terri A. Sewell, Jill Tokuda, and Katie Porter.

Specifically, the legislation would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to grant waivers to any state or service provider to continue providing school meals during a strike or other labor-management dispute, inclement weather, a natural disaster, public health emergency, unsafe facilities, construction, repairs or any unanticipated event. 

“No student should have to go a day struggling with hunger in the United States of America,” Rep. Omar said. “As a former nutrition educator and someone who has experienced hunger myself, I believe that every student deserves access to healthy and nutritious meals, regardless of their circumstances. The increase in extreme weather events in my home state of Minnesota this winter makes it more important than ever that we feed our kids—even if school is closed. And as someone who believes in the power of organized labor and the right to strike, I also understand the importance of supporting workers and their families during these challenging times. This bill builds on the success of my previous legislation, the MEALS Act, which passed during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that similar flexibilities were available during school closures.”

“30 million students in America depend on meals provided to them at school. Without those school meals, they would often go hungry – something no child should have to experience," said Rep. Schiff. "Unfortunately, when schools temporarily close, like they did in my district during the pandemic and a recent strike, students are left without their source of daily nutrition and fuel for the brain. I am proud to join Reps. Ilhan Omar and Jahana Hayes in introducing the School Meals During School Closures Act. This bill will make sure our schools are given the flexibility necessary to provide meals to students in the event of a closure, so that they aren’t going without the nutrition they need.”

“Over 9 million children nationwide, including more than 131,000 children in Connecticut, face food insecurity. For many children, meals received at school could be the only food received at all,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “Yet, many schools lack the flexibility to provide nutritious meals to students during unprecedented school closures or disruptions to daily operations. As a champion for child nutrition, I am happy to support the School Meals during School Closures Act. I thank my colleagues Congressman Schiff and Congresswoman Omar for their commitment to students and child nutrition.”

"FRAC wholeheartedly endorses the School Meals During School Closures Act, introduced today by Rep. Ilhan Omar, which will ensure children’s access to the nutrition they need during unexpected school closures," said Luis Guardia,president of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). "Childhood hunger in this country spiked dramatically as a result of the public health and economic fallout of COVID-19, but things would have been far worse if not for child nutrition waivers that allowed all children to receive school meals at no charge. We urge Congress to build on this success by enacting this critical legislation."

Rep. Omar is a former nutrition educator, an anti-hunger activist, and a current member of the Education and Labor Committee. Last Congress, she successfully authored and passed the MEALS Act, which helped feed nearly 30 million kids during the pandemic. Together with Sen. Tina Smith, she authored the End School Lunch Shaming Act and introduced the Universal School Meals Program Act with Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The bill is endorsed by the American Heart Association, Appetite For Change , Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN), Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, Church Women United in New York State, City Harvest, Climate Reality Project SWPA, Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, Fruit Belt Advisory Council , Galway CSD, GRACE/End Child Poverty California, Guilford Public Schools, Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks!, Health and Welfare Council of Long Island -Kierste, HOPE, Hunger Free America, Hunger solutions minnesota, Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis, Just Harvest, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Macedon Public Library, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Mid-South Foodbank SNAP Coordinator, Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, MidSouth Food Bank , National Association of Social Workers, National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter, National Family Family Coalition, NEA-NM , New York School Nutrition association , Norwich Public Schools, Our Community Cares Camp, Parent Voices CA, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, Pittsburgh food policy council , Plant it Further , School Nutrition Association, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley , Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, Soul Fire Farm, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, St. Peter RC School, Tennessee Justice Center, University District Food Bank, and Vernon Public Schools.